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Hey there Happy Travelers! Back in March we did the first edition of the "Top 10 Travel Bloggers You Should Be Following". Those are all still great blogs, and you should check them out! One thing I have learned writing this travel blog of mine is that there are always new bloggers out there to discover, so I wanted to share the next installment of travel bloggers that are sharing really cool stories all over the world. So, without further ado and in no particular order: 1. North to South Diana and Ian quit there jobs to the travel the world (you know I'm down with that). They also share tips and GORGEOUS photos of their travels. They have tons of North American road trip ideas so, if you're still trying to figure out a summer trip, head over there for a few ideas. 2. Anti Travel Guides Luke of Anti Travel Guides has an amazing site where he's sharing his passion for travel. Luke and his wife have regular 9-5 jobs like most of us, but he's sharing his tips on how you can still spend as much time as possible seeing the world. He also did a great guest post on Happy Travelers sharing some great tips about visiting New Zealand. Be sure and check him out! I really like Nomadic Samuel's posts because they are usually in video form. I think so often with photos that it's easier to crop out something undesirable or filter it to make it look better. And while you can do that with video too, I really get a sense for what it's like to be where he's traveling to. It's just a fun way to experience travel through a bloggers lens. 4. Travel Geekery Veronika of Travel Geekery created a site for her and other "geeks" to share tips and travel knowledge so you can "know before you go". There's seriously something for everyone on her site. There are reviews that cover the globe and include food and lodging reviews and breathtaking pictures as well. She makes me feel cool about being a travel geek! 5. Mapping Megan Mapping Megan is composed of Megan and Mike, adrenaline junkies, and incredibly active travelers. They started their blog back in 2007 and having been sharing stories about how they biked "death road" and skydived over the Swiss Alps among other daring feats. If you're looking for some extreme trip ideas, this might be the blog for you! 6. Teacake Travels I love the story Alice of Teacake Travels shares about how a train ride from Nottingham gave her the push she needed to travel. Ever since that ride she's been out seeing the world, solo traveling and having the time of her life. If you've been thinking about giving solo travel a try or teaching English abroad, definitely check out her blog. 7. Camera & Carry On Talk about a match made in travel heaven! Shannon and Michael of Camera & Carry on took their first trip together just weeks after meeting in 2006 and they've been traveling ever since. I really like their blog because they just seem like happy, funny people that have a passion for food and seeing this beautiful planet. Their enthusiasm is kind of infectious. 8. A Southern Gypsy Ashley of A Southern Gypsy, is you guessed it, form the south...Nashville to be precise. She has an impressive list of places she's traveling this year and can pretty much be your go to guide for delicious southern food if you ever find yourself that way. In addition to sharing her travel stories, she's also sharing cute pics of her dog, which is a sure fire way for me to be hooked! 9. Along Dusty Roads Andrew and Emily of Along dusty roads might be the most adorable travel duo out there! Travelling and photography are two of of their greatest passions. That pushed them to take off on a two year journey with a one-way flight to Mexico. They show you how you can afford to travel on only $25 a day. And from the looks of it, that $25 is paying for a lot of fun! 10. Getting Close To Getting Close to is a video blog for travelers. Dalia is your host taking you all over the world. Her videos are great! Her videos are designed to help you learn about new destinations, help you meet locals and engage in other cultures, and help you design your own life with all the possibilities that are out there. Getting Close To is definitely a fun site to visit to learn about a few new places before you visit them. That's my list! I think there's really something on here for everyone. If you're into adventure or you're looking for budget travel, this list has you covered. If you prefer videos or breathtaking travel photos, it's here too! Don't forget to check out our last list of Top 10 Bloggers You Should Be Following for even more travel inspiration.
Start planning your next trip, and don't forget to travel happy! Skeeter
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Wow, if we get too many more of these it's going to go straight to our heads. We've posted about our first and second Liebster Awards but here we are with a third AND a fourth! Every time I am just as blown away. I'm always just shocked that anyone actually reads this, let alone enjoys it enough to pick it out for this type of recognition. Thank you, thank you to Journey to Design and Surviving Europe for their nominations. You should take a break from reading this to go check out their sites. But then come back...because I'll get lonely over here. So, part of the deal with the Liebsters is I have to answer some tough questions. First off from Journey to Design: What did you learn from travelling the world? A. Patients. I know it sounds cliche, but it's the truth. I'm naturally not a very patient person. Travel though requires it. Undoubtedly your flight will be delayed, your bus will break down, or you'll be lost in a a new city when all you want to do is rest. Traveling has made me a better person this way. My short fuse is a bit longer these days. Best food eaten abroad? A. Oh man, that's like asking me to pick my favorite sunny day. If I had to choose, I'd have to say the gelato we had in Italy...all of it (with one exception). It was all so good. I want to dedicate my life to becoming a gelato connoisseur. What do you miss from home? A. Our dogs, Stella & Hobbes. I turn into a crazy person when we are on the road. I start going up to strangers and asking if I can pet their dog. Sometimes I wish they were those tiny dogs that you can carry around in a purse so I could take them with us. Best architecture you've seen while travelling? A. I'd have to say that at this time, it would be the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument in Rome. I remember feeling so in awe the moment I saw it. There's something indescribably (at least for me) impressive about it. Barcelona is high on my list of places I'd like to visit, in part because of the architecture, so this answer may change with time. Best Advice for newbie travelers? A. Ignore your parents' advice and talk to strangers. Talking to strangers is how I got to meet Sean White, found a job in a foreign country, made life long friends, found my way in new cities. Be smart about it, and never put yourself in a compromising situation. But, sometimes being brave enough to talk to the stranger on the bus next to you will lead you on an amazing adventure. Even if it doesn't, you might just have a great conversation. Best Travel Hack? A. I'd have to say that multi-city plane tickets is one of my favorite. Sometimes it's cheaper to fly to one city, and back home from another, which is also a great excuse to see more places. If you're already planning on covering a lot of territory, it also saves you all the time and money of getting back to your original destination. Sometimes thinking outside of the box when booking your tickets can save you a lot of money. If you could only travel to one country, which one would it be? A. Asking this to a travel addict is almost cruel. I'd have to say Spain. I've always wanted to go and I've never been. So, if I could only pick one more to see, that would be it. It's definitely a place that I don't want to miss out on. Is there a place you don't want to go back to? A. Kind of, but not entirely. I don't really have a desire to go back to Mexico. That is 100% because of the dangers. I just did not feel super safe when I was there. It's a real shame, because one of the best beaches I've ever seen was in Mexico. So, until things are calmer there, I'm not planning on going back. What's your hometown and is it worth a trip? A. I spent most of my childhood in Carlyle, Illinois. It's a small town surrounded by farms and along a big lake. The lake is one of the best in the country for sailing. So, if you're into sailing, it could be a fun trip. When I was in high school, I moved to Pocatello, Idaho. There's a lot of outdoor things to do there (mountain biking, hiking etc). It's also on the way to Yellowstone National Park. Who was the most interesting person you've met travelling? A. His name was Rico and he was born on a sailboat off the coast of Cuba. We met him in the Bahamas and he had a lot of interesting stories about his life. I'm not sure if they were all true, but they were certainly interesting. And he had a gourmet chocolate cake hook-up when I had a craving in the middle of the night...so he's cool with me. Where will your next trip take you? A. That's one that I've been wresting with. It's mostly between Costa Rica and Iceland. Depending on the day, I'll have a different answer. Today, I'm leaning towards Costa Rica because we want to spend the week at a surf camp. Only time will tell! Ok, now onto the next set from, Surviving Europe! What inspired you to pursue a life of travel & adventure? A. I think I was just born with it. I don't remember a time when I haven't wanted to travel. I've always been so mesmerized by how beautiful this world is, and I don't want to miss out on a single bit of it. The more I travel, the more this desire is fueled. I just want to keep going! How do you create a work-life balance in your lives as travel bloggers? To be honest, it's really hard. Liz and I both work regular jobs, and sometimes more than one job at a time. Plus we both try really hard to get out and travel as much as we can. That can make it really hard to also blog about it. A lot of time goes into writing posts and doing all the stuff on the back end to make the blog run. Recently, I've been giving myself permission to not worry so much about having X number of posts a week. For me, it's most important to enjoy life. If I'm not really enjoying life, then what's the point? I've also found myself on trips, going to extra effort to get photos or information so I can share it later. But, I just felt that that was so stupid. I've recommitted myself to living in the moment more. If money was no object, where would you go and how long would you stay there? Everywhere, and forever. If I really had unlimited funds. We would go everywhere and probably never come back. We'd spend as much time as we wanted in each spot and then just get up and keep going, forever and ever. Where is your “happy place”? Tropical beach? Snow-capped mountains? Bustling city? A. I've been pretty happy in all those locations, but if I had to pick one, I'd say "Beach!" When you’re in a travel “rut” and feeling homesick, what do you do to snap out of it? A. To be honest, I've never been terribly homesick. Does that make me a terrible person? Anytime we've traveled for an extended amount of time, we've communicated with Skype and that always helps feel closer to the people you love. I've moved a lot, and so there's not one place that feels like home. If anything, I miss certain friends and family. So, it's nice in this modern age that we can stay connected no matter where we are. Tell us about the best trip you’ve ever taken! A. That would be our nearly year long trip to New Zealand. Happy Travelers readers are probably tired of hearing about it, but it was seriously the best. New Zealand is an amazing country, filled with incredible people, and it's a place everyone should visit at least once. Are you an adventurous eater when you’re traveling? What is the craziest thing you’ve ever tried? I'll try anything once. I've never been too afraid to eat something. The craziest thing I've had is Ika no Shiokara in Japan, which is salted squid guts. I was a little unsure of what to expect, but I actually really liked it. What is the #1 thing you want to check off the bucket list? A. I want to see the northern lights! It just looks like it must be such an amazingly beautiful experience. Where is the weirdest place you’ve ever slept? A. At the base of a volcano in New Zealand. Is there anything you’ve learned so far in your blogging experience that you want to pass on to those just starting? A. I'd say to try your best to always be authentic. My favorite blogs, travel or otherwise, seem very authentic to the authors. No one wants to read something that is exactly what they can find everywhere else. That can be really hard when you're struggling with trying to boost readership, or suffering from writer's block. Just try and stay true to the reason why you decided to start, and have fun. And....that's it! Thank you to Journey to Design and Surviving Europe for their nominations! Please stop by and check them out.
Typically with a Liebster award, you are suppossed to nominate 5 other bloggers. Because we've done this a few times before, I'm not going to do that. But, do check out our first and second Liebster Awards posts to see who we did nominate before. I hope you all have a great week. Liz and I should be back later with some new posts to help spur some summer vacation ideas. Happy Travels! Skeeter Hey there Happy Travelers! We have another guest post today, and I'm so excited to share it with you! Petra and Shaun of The Global Couple are a mid-twenties New Zealand couple who love exploring at home and overseas. They search out amazing street food, scenic road trips, and have a passion for wandering with no destination in mind. They balance writing about the good times of travel with the reality of struggles they have been through while on the road - travel is not always easy! Check out their blog for New Zealand content as well as posts about North America, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Their post today is about why road tripping is the best way to travel. As you know, Pat and I spent some time road tripping in their neck of the woods and we totally agree with them! Without further ado, here's their story: Are you a fan of independent travel and not being locked into an itinerary? Do you like pulling over on the side of the road to take photos and to stop at random points of interest? If you've answered yes to both of these questions, chances are you like road trips. If you answered no, well, you're in for a treat - in this post we hope to convince you why road tripping is the best way to travel. We have been on road trips in New Zealand, the United States, and Canada, so we think we're pretty qualified to offer an opinion on this style of travel! 1. Your itinerary is up to you You can take as long as you want to get from A to B (and you can even go via X, Y, and Z to get there) or you can blast through as fast as possible. The choice is yours! You can tailor a road trip to suit your needs - do you want to go through cities or stay well away from them? Do you want to see quirky off the beaten track destinations? If you plan and execute your own road trip you avoid having to go along with the group on a tour, or missing out places altogether if you travel by train or plane. 2. You can save a lot of money Road tripping in a campervan is our favourite way to travel. Being in a campervan means that your accommodation and your vehicle are all-in-one, thus saving you precious dollars. In many countries you can park up on the side of the road for free (in New Zealand this is called freedom camping, and can only be done if you have a self-contained vehicle, i.e. a toilet and waste tank in your van – you don’t want to leave waste behind). Otherwise you can check into a cheap campsite rather than having to pay for an expensive hotel room. One of our most crazy road trip experiences was sleeping in our van in midtown Manhattan - it was quite noisy but we saved a couple of hundred dollars in accommodation andwe only had to pay $14 for parking! 3. You experience the 'real' destination you're visiting If you fly in and out of major cities on a trip, that's all well and good, but you are really only experiencing one portion of the country you're visiting. For example in the United States, the big, busy cities like New York are vastly different to the little towns and natural sights you'll pass by on your way to the next stop. We love cities and we love the countryside, so a road trip is an excellent way to mix the two. In New Zealand, if you only visit cities, you'll miss the best part of the country! The natural landscapes, often hours away from the nearest airport, are the major attraction in New Zealand. You'd be silly not to visit them! 4. You learn how to cope as a driver and navigator in a different country Chances are if you're road tripping around a foreign country, the road rules will be different, the language may be different, and pretty much everything will be unfamiliar. We've only been road tripping as a couple so one of us is the driver and the other is the navigator. We've had many spats while road tripping but it has also taught us to be more patient with each other - it can be mighty difficult trying to read a map in the dark, understand road signs in a foreign language, all while driving on the wrong side of the road in the wrong side of the car! It definitely tests any relationship. For those of you who travel solo, a GPS navigation system might be your best investment! Our favourite road trip destinations Some of our favourite travel memories have been from road trips. As a couple, road trips offer us a chance to chat, sing, laugh, and forget about rushing around and being so busy for a while. We love seeing places that are off the beaten track, that don't make it into the Lonely Planet guide - those are sometimes the places that you remember the most. Here are three of our favourite road trip pit stops that are difficult to get to by plane/train: 1. Oparara Basin, South Island, New Zealand This is one of our favourite places in New Zealand. We discovered it while on a road trip a few years back in our campervan Bessie, and we now recommend it to all travellers! The basin has a very access dodgy road, and is not recommended for campervans - if you have a camper then you can get a shuttle bus into the basin (it's a dead end road anyway so you have to come out the way you went in!). The basin is full of spectacular limestone caves, primeval New Zealand forest, and brown rivers stained by tannins. It's almost as untouched as you can get in New Zealand (perhaps the world?) and well worth the detour. 2. Northland, North Island, New Zealand The Northland region has the best beaches in New Zealand – there’s no contest! The fabulous white sand, turquoise water, lots of little islands, great surf, and undiscovered towns make this region worth visiting. We love Spirits Bay, at the northern tip of the North Island – there’s a cheap Department of Conservation campsite right next to the beach, and the Bay of Islands with its myriad of islands and gorgeous bays, although a little harder to access for road trippers. 3. White Mountains National Forest, New Hampshire, USA While on our road trip around the northeast USA we stayed a couple of nights in the White Mountains National Forest in New Hampshire. The Franconia Notch State Park has some lovely waterfalls, as does the pull-offs on the side of the Kancamagus Highway that goes from Lincoln to Conway. There are many cheap campsites along the way, as well as wonderful hikes – just watch out for bears! So, are you convinced to take a road trip now? -Thanks to Petra and Shaun for sharing their story! I don't know about you, but I'm ready to hop in the car and hit the road!
In addition to their site, you can also follow their adventures on twitter and Instagram @theglobalcouple, and on Facebook. Where are your favorite road trip destinations? Let us know in the comments. Wherever you are I hope you're having a great week and traveling happy! Skeeter |
Skeeter
Hi there! I'm Skeeter. I grew up moving a lot and that makes me a bit restless for travel and exploration. I started this blog with my husband Pat when we decided to backpack New Zealand for a year. We are always looking for the next adventure and are loving life. We're just your average couple with two sassy dogs and a love for travel. We're sharing our travels and the tips we pick up along the way. LIZHello! I'm Liz. Blogging is very new to me, but I'm so excited to finally write as much as I talk! Archives
December 2016
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