It’s definitely true that flights have gotten more expensive since the pandemic, especially for those of us captive to a single dominant airline (ahem). If you’ve got your heart set on a flight to a specific destination on a specific date, you’ll pay about 25% more than you would have in 2019. That said, if…
View MoreWe all know to be on the alert of scams on the internet, but scammers are sophisticated and it only takes a momentary lapse of attention to get tricked. I wanted to share a scam I encountered this week, and the criminally negligent response from a booking platform. Saturday morning I received a push notification…
View MoreDrones are super annoying. Drones are also super cool. This is the conundrum that faces anyone who wants really awesome photos and videos, but doesn’t want to be a jerk. Even a few years ago, drones were bulky and expensive – not the sort of thing you’d toss in your bag haphazardly. Nowadays though, ultra…
View MoreThe fun of travel isn’t just about the days you spend somewhere new or different. For me, the joy of travel is about the planning, the research, and the dreaming before a trip. And, with a fun souvenir or two, all the good memories of a trip can live on long after your passport is…
View MoreLast month, I mentioned “Regenerative Tourism,” a new travel buzzword designed to let the Instagram crowd ramp up the virtue signaling in their #blessed travel posts. Perhaps that’s a little unfair, but the reality is that many of us do think about with the tension between our passion for travel and our understanding of the…
View MoreCheap flights are a perennial topic. Loss aversion drives us to seek a deal, even if it means taking a circuitous route or enduring an extra layover. I’m all for making irrational decisions, but there are a few gotchas I haven’t mentioned in previous tips around split tickets. I’m currently working on a couple itineraries…
View MoreI recently had my first opportunity to try biking in Amsterdam. On past visits, I’ll admit, I’ve been a bit intimidated – biking in Amsterdam is serious business! At the same time, I’ve been looking at options for renting a bicycle during my stay in Hanoi next year. Just crossing the street in Hanoi is…
View MoreIn 2023 and 2024, I went on two international trips with my whole family – my parents, my sister, my niece and nephew, and my wife. Having just finished that second trip, I wanted to share some thoughts on what works and what doesn’t. Obviously every family different, and my family is mercifully low-drama. Hopefully some of these approaches…
View MoreThe last time I wrote about getting a SIM card while traveling, I recommended that most people skip the hassle when going on American-length trips abroad. Tolerating the slower roaming from your US carrier (or paying the extra fee for faster speed) outweighed the benefits versus waiting in lines at an airport kiosk or dealing…
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This post is part of a series called Morocco 2024 Saturday was essentially the end of our trip, with a couple days of transit to make it back to Minnesota. In the night, we had an amazing storm roll across the desert camp – very high winds and rain. We were glad that our tents…
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This post is part of a series called Morocco 2024 Well, I’m a bit behind on blog posts, on account of getting a wee bit sick. Thanks to strong empirical testing, I can report that many hours in a car on Moroccan back roads, followed by a couple hours bashing dunes in a Land Cruiser,…
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This post is part of a series called Morocco 2024 The motivation for this trip was climbing, so today we decided to do some climbing. For regular readers of the blog, there’s not a ton of excitement to share, but it was a lovely day. We started out with a delicious breakfast at the bed…
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This post is part of a series called Morocco 2024 Today was mostly about transiting the rest of the way to Todra Gorge, but we couldn’t sleep within walking distance of a world heritage site and not visit. So, we spent the morning exploring the historic city of Aït Benhaddou. The thousand-plus year old city…
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This post is part of a series called Morocco 2024 I’ve been on a mission to put Kat in a hot air balloon all year, and today was the day it actually happened! Hot air balloon rides are popular activity for tourists in Marrakesh, and all the companies offer a pretty standard package: pickup very…
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This post is part of a series called Morocco 2024 “Hey guys, wouldn’t it sweet to just go to the desert to climb after the election” Sometimes things start as jokes on the group thread and turn into reality. In a week of unfunny jokes, this one is playing out rather nicely. In total, there…
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Another year, another trip to Mexico City – when I say it’s one of my favorite places in the world, I’m not kidding! And, when you love a place, you want to share it with others. The past few years, it’s been friends. This year – family. The whole family! For reasons that I still…
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One wonders how often someone ends up in Bucharest, wondering where the Danube is? I’ll admit, I didn’t know a lot about Romania prior to this trip. And, admittedly, it wasn’t a destination at the top of my travel todo list. This trip was primarily about attending the TRACE conference, which focuses on dendrochronology. I’ve…
View MoreI recently returned from a quick trip to Cuba. As with any new destination, I tried to do as much research as possible in advance. I was surprised with how much outdated, contradictory, or intentionally misleading content exists on the subject of traveling to Cuba as an American. So, for this trip tip, I’m going…
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