Category: Tours

Essential Travel Tips for Planning Your Own Trip without using a Travel Agent – Portugal Edition!

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I’m not sure how it happened, but at some point my sister and I became the designated travel agents for all of our friends and family. And no, we don’t do it professionally! We just love traveling, we love researching, and we love having memorable and easygoing travel experiences. Ever since our summer abroad in Paris when we were in high school and college, we’ve slowly learned a thing or two about being abroad. It’s always a little overwhelming in the beginning of planning a trip. Flights, hotels, rental cars, day trips, restaurants… it’s a lot to think about it. But if you just focus on one thing at a time, the rest will fall into place. I also wrote this list in the order that I follow throughout the booking process. 🙂 I hope it helps simplify your travel planning!

FLIGHTS

I always start with booking my flight first. It just feels like the “biggest” thing to get out of the way – figuring out the dates! Plus, the plane ticket is usually the largest and most expensive part of traveling so I like to make sure I get the best deal on the plane tickets first and foremost. I typically try to research flight prices on Mondays-Wednesdays when the tickets are usually the cheapest. It’s also helpful to book at 6-8 weeks out for domestic flights and 2-6 months out for international flights. Though, if you’re dates are flexible, I recommend watching the flight prices for a few days (or weeks if you have the time) before making your purchase. I tend to use Booking.com most of the time because it’s easy to find the cheapest flights with their search engine and they offer mix-and-match flights from multiple airlines. Oftentimes, booking directly with an airline site is more expensive. Just make sure to read their refund process because it’s usually different for each airline, even when you book through Booking.com. I tend to do way too much research when it comes to booking flights because I’m always looking for the one with the least amount of layovers for the best price. Yes, sometimes I’ll even make spreadsheets and charts before purchasing… but that’s probably overkill. 🙂 I booked our Portugal trip for 10 days. I always find this to be a good timeline if you’re going to be traveling between two-three cities. And honestly, 10 days wasn’t even enough for Portugal! In Japan, we were there for about 11 days, which felt just about perfect. If you’re spending all of this money on plane tickets, you might as well make it worth your while! And remember, you only live once!

HOTELS

Okay, so you finally pulled the trigger and booked a flight! Yay! After I book a flight, I usually take a few days off to let my brain recharge. Hotel research is a whole other beast. BUT! Booking.com actually offers package deals that include flights and hotels, which makes it even easier! I usually do my initial research on Booking.com and then make sure to read a few reviews on each hotel on Google too before officially deciding. If you’re traveling to Portugal, make sure to check out my blog post – Cute and Affordable Hotels in Porto and Lisbon – for recommendations! I’ve learned the hard way to keep the hotels to a minimum. Meaning, stay in the same hotel for as many nights as possible and avoid switching hotels if you can. It’s such a pain dealing with check-in/check-out times and dragging suitcases down the street and on public transportation. TRUST ME. I recommend only one hotel per city. In many cases, you can take day-trips out of major cities to see landmarks and use your hotel as a home base for the majority of your trip. Also, I definitely recommend reading some travel blogs or reddit posts about the best areas for visitors to stay in for the city you are visiting. You’d be surprised how many people have already done the research for you! Reddit is a lifesaver, in case you haven’t discovered it yet. I use it all the time! You can usually figure out how convenient a hotel is by reading the reviews as well. In Europe, I tend to like hotels that are located near the river, as most European cities were built around waterways. In Porto, I’d recommend the Ribeira and Baixa areas. In Lisbon, we stayed in the Chiado area!

TRANSPORTATION

Booking transportation can be the most stressful part of planning a trip – trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B in a foreign country. Honestly, I just read other people’s travel blogs! After doing a bit of research, I figured out that Omio is one of the easiest ways to book bus and train tickets in Portugal. They have a super easy to use phone app, so just make sure to download it before you go! I booked our train ticket from Porto to Lisbon on the app before we left but I’ve read that you can book train tickets on Omio even on the day of your train ride. You can also book buses and ferries on Omio, all over Europe. It’s a super helpful app! For rental cars, you can also use Booking.com. They always have super competitive rates!

EXPERIENCES AND DAY TRIPS

This is the fun part! What do you want to do while you’re there?! Booking day trips and experiences are the best way to get to know a new country. You can do food tours, ghost tours, boat rides, entertainment, wine tastings, etc. The list goes on and on! I prefer to use Viator for this kind of thing because the experiences usually have a lot of reviews from previous travelers. Sometimes there are multiple versions of the same type of excursion but the schedule of the day is different. They do this so that tour groups don’t run into each other. For example, the Douro Valley Wine Tour with River Cruise that I booked in Portugal had a few different options. You could either do the tour that included two vineyard visits and a boat ride OR a tour that included three vineyard visits without a boat ride. We also did a 3 Hour Food & Wine Tour in Porto, Portugal that we loved – you can read more about it on the blog here! These kinds of tours are typically great for older travelers too because everything is pre-planned and you can choose the tour that works for your accessibility. I try to book at least 2-3 tours/excursions for each trip we take. The tour guides are usually super friendly and willing to share information about their culture and country. You might even find that you make friends through your tour group that you keep up with throughout your travels. And maybe even friends for life!

RESTAURANTS AND FOOD OPTIONS

This can often be the most stressful part of a trip when you’re exhausted, lost, jet-lagged, or starving. Every country is different, which is why I make sure to create a list of restaurant ideas before we even leave for our trip. I make sure to pick restaurants that are close to our hotel for those nights when our feet are throbbing and we just want to hang out in our temporary neighborhood. You can also create your own map using Google My Maps, which is an incredible tool. You can add the restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, landmarks, and anything else you’re planning to do to your map so you can see how far away everything is from each other. Make sure to download your map to make it accessible offline just in case you don’t have wifi or service at some point during your trip.

OTHER TRAVEL TIPS

-Bring a charged power bank with you everywhere. Your phone will die FAST when you’re using it all day for maps, directions, restaurant research, etc.

-Bring a camera! As a photographer, I often bring multiple cameras, but a camera like the Canon G7X Mark II is great for travel because the images are beautiful but the camera itself is super easy to use. You can read more about this camera on my photography blog here! Plus, it’s a tiny point and shoot camera and can fit in your pocket!

-Invest in a rolling suitcase with spinner wheels. These are SO much better than the old school suitcases that you have to drag behind you. It makes the airport experience a million times better, believe me!

-GET AIRTAGS FOR YOUR LUGGAGE! I’ve heard so many nightmare stories about lost luggage. Airtags allow you to track your luggage throughout your trip. Even if you just accidentally leave your suitcase outside of the elevator at your hotel. Airtags are truly amazing. I use them for everything in my life now. Plus, it’s kind of fun to watch your suitcase travel along with you from airport to airport.

I’ll be sure to add more tips as they come to me, but for now, I hope these tips help you in your planning process! Feel free to leave any comments/questions below!

Happy traveling!
❤ Myles Katherine

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New York in One Day Guided Sightseeing Tour by Viator – Review – NYC Travel Tips & Ideas

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(This post contains affiliate links and we will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through our links.)

There’s a LOT to see in New York City and it’s not always easy to navigate the city, especially if you’ve never been there. I still remember my very first trip to NYC when I was about 13, and the stress on my dad’s face as we tried to figure out how to get from Point A to Point B. If only we had known about this New York in One Day Guided Sightseeing Tour by Viator. At this point, I feel fairly confident getting around the city since I’ve been there quite a few times. But on my latest visit, I was only going to be there for two days, but I still wanted to see all of the famous sites and landmarks. Is it really a trip to NYC if you don’t visit Times Square and Central Park?!

This tour was perfect because it’s only from about 9:00 am to 3:30pm, so you still have plenty of daylight left afterwards to continue exploring on your own. And the tour starts and ends right next to Times Square, so you can spend the rest of your day visiting all of the fun shops and restaurants in the area.

Our tour guide, Don, was incredible. He grew up in the city and knew everything about every single building we drove by. He had so many entertaining stories and truly brought the city to life. It was amazing to hear about how the city has changed over the last few decades.

Some of the highlights of the tour included Central Park, Rockefeller Center, the Staten Island Ferry, the 9/11 Memorial and so many others. I can’t imagine trying to do all of this in one day on our own. It was so nice to have a bus driver who kept us on track and got us everywhere in a timely fashion. Plus, the fact that this tour also included a two-way trip on the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty truly made it a full, classic NYC day. It was pretty rainy on the day of our tour, but we were given rain ponchos from our tour guide which we were very grateful for, considering we totally forgot to bring an umbrella.

When we were near Rockefeller Center we got to see some of the famous TV filming locations, and we got lucky and saw Jenna Bush and Leslie Bibb filming live on the Today Show! If you’re a White Lotus fan, then you know Leslie Bibb. That totally made my day!

This tour is perfect for families with kids of all ages because it takes the guess work out of the day. I’m sure my dad would have felt much more relaxed back in the day if we’d had a guided bus tour to drag us all around the city. He also would have loved our tour guide, an NYC native with that classic New York accent and personality that you’ve seen in the movies. This tour is also great because it doesn’t involve too much walking, and you’re always welcome to stay on the bus at any point and skip one of the visits. The bus was super nice and fully air-conditioned, which I’m sure makes a big difference on those hot summer days in NYC. I feel like this tour would be perfect around the holidays too, since it gets so crowded in the city near Rockefeller center. Our tour guide knew the best ways in and out of everything to avoid crowds, so I think it would really help make your holiday trip to NYC more relaxing and easygoing. Not to mention, you’ll get to see the famous Rockefeller Christmas Tree and ice skating rink!

If you’re interested in reading more about this tour and seeing more photos from our day, make sure to check out my photography blog here! And if you’d like to book this exact same tour, you can find it on Viator here. And make sure to check out my Viator Shop for all of my recommended tours all around the world. Take it from me, tours are the best way to see everything without the hassle of figuring out transportation yourself. And if you’re traveling with your parents, grandparents, or children, these tours are a game changer. If you’re looking for a hotel in the Times Square/Hell’s Kitchen area, I highly recommend the StayPineapple Hotel in Midtown. It’s great for couples and super affordable. The rooms are somewhat small so I’m not sure I’d recommend it for larger families, but it’s super cute and quirky! We loved it.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Happy travels!

❤ Myles Katherine

Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio Tour with Transport from London with Viator Review – Best London, England Tours & Travel Tips

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Oh my goodness, this tour! I just got home from our trip to England last week and I’ve been itching to write a post about the Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio Tour with Transport from London. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip! We almost didn’t even go on the tour because we’d already spent 10 days hiking through the Cotswolds on the 103-mile Cotswold Way Trail (don’t worry, I’ll be sharing posts about that whole experience soon too). We ended up booking it for our very last day in London and it was 100% worth it.

While my husband and I both enjoy watching the Harry Potter films about once a year in the fall, we’re not super fans by any means. We weren’t sure if it was going to be a fun experience for us or if the whole thing was really meant for true Harry Potter fans only. But it is honestly an experience that anyone of any age could enjoy.

The bus ride from London was about an hour long and then we were given from 9:30am to 2:00pm to enjoy the Harry Potter experience on our own. There is no designated tour guide for the day but you have the option to purchase digital headsets to listen to key facts as you’re moving along. However, we didn’t opt for the headsets and we still thoroughly enjoyed everything and didn’t feel like we missed out on anything. There are plenty of signs, videos, and plaques along the way so you’ll get tons of information from those.

You start off in the Great Hall where you get to see the actual set that they used for the movie, including the magical floating candles and long tables! It was stunning. After the Great Hall, you enter a much larger room filled with props, videos, outfits, entire sets, and so much more. It was insane how much there was to see! We were lucky enough to be there for the “Tri-Wizard Tournament” so there were actors and dancers adding even more magic to the day. I don’t want to spoil too much so I’ll just include a few photos of my favorite moments from throughout the day. I will say that it’s important not to spend too much time on any one thing. There’s so much to see and do and you don’t want to run out of time!

Once you reach the cafeteria, you’re about halfway through the experience. We finally got to try Butterbeer and even got a Butterbeer cupcake and doughnut too! There are burgers, hotdogs, burritos and all sorts of food options for lunch. They have vegan options as well! I tried the vegan burrito and it was pretty good. Not amazing or anything, but decently yummy! The Butterbeer cupcake was delish though. 🙂

Throughout the day you’ll wander through the Forbidden Forest, stroll through Diagon Alley and board the Hogwarts Express. You’ll see thousands of props, hundreds of outfits worn by the cast, and dozens of different activities and interactive experiences. It was truly such a fun day and so incredibly memorable. I’d even go back and do the whole thing again next time I’m in London!

There’s a section of the tour that is outside so just make sure to bring an umbrella if it’s a rainy day! Though you could easily view those sections from inside the cafeteria and some of them are walk-through or have indoor portions, so even if you don’t have an umbrella, you’d be perfectly fine.

We didn’t have much time in the gift shop but we ended up visiting the Harry Potter shop at Platform 9¾ at King’s Cross Station in London and we were able to buy most of the same products there.

If you’re interested in booking the same tour, you can find it on Viator here! I’d 100,000% recommend this tour, as it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience! It’s amazing to see the sets they used to film the movies and we learned so much about how much time, money, energy and work went into their creation. We both came home wanting to watch documentaries about the making of the Harry Potter films because the lengths they went to to make these movies magical is truly epic. I’ve been raving about this tour ever since we got home. The only downside was that I would have liked a little more time to look at everything, but it also left me wanting more which is probably better than being “over it” by the end of the day. I’d gladly go back on this tour again if any of my friends or family members want to go next time we’re in London. We absolutely loved every second of it.

Thanks so much for reading! You can find out more about this tour on my photography blog here. If you’d like to see more of my recommended tours around the world, check out my Viator shop here! Happy travels!

❤ Myles Katherine

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Review of the GetYourGuide Istanbul: Bosphorus and Black Sea Cruise with Lunch in Istanbul, Turkiye

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I had the privilege of traveling to Istanbul for a conference for work. It was my first time visiting this gorgeous city, and I was so lucky that my mom decided to join me for a long weekend exploring together! I had heard marvelous things about the food, culture, and atmosphere and was so excited to experience it. To prep for my trip, I read a non-fiction book about the city called Istanbul: City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World, to brush up on its history. One undeniable theme in this book, is the significance and glory of the Bosphorus Strait. Its beautiful sparkling turquoise waters carry so much history, and I knew I wanted to spend time on the water for at least one day. Taking a boat tour would also be an opportunity to leave the big city and take in the timeless views from the water.

While I couldn’t find the exact link to our cruise, GetYourGuide offers its Istanbul: Bosphorus and Black Sea Cruise with Lunch. The cruise covers the same area with lunch, a stop in Anadolu Kavagi, and swimming in the Black Sea (a bonus that my tour did not have)! It’s a five-hour leisurely cruise that passes by major Istanbul landmarks, beautiful houses, and bridges along the Bosphorus, plus it offers free time to explore a quaint fishing village, Anadolu Kavagi.

I’m really happy we booked a lunch tour because we were able to breakaway from the city and also have time to explore a small Turkish town on the water. Once we boarded the boat, our first hour was filled with SO many beautiful views and photo opportunities.

Since I was in Istanbul for work, I was staying at the Sheraton Istanbul City Center. It was a great venue for a conference, had comfortable rooms, and a lovely breakfast buffet with so many wonderful Turkish dishes. The hotel offered a free shuttle that took us straight to Taksim Square for sightseeing, people-watching, and plenty of shopping!

My favorite site to see from the water was the Ortaköy Mosque – it’s truly stunning. We had visited this mosque and surrounding neighborhood the night before, and it’s one of my favorite spots in the city.

Ortakoy Mosque
Ortakoy Mosque

We enjoyed a relaxing cruise up the Strait and once the major sights were passed, and we were fatigued from snapping photos, lunch was served! We had delicious dips and bread with a choice of type of meat (or vegetarian option) for our main course. After lunch, we went back out to the deck, enjoyed the breeze, and cruised.

Before we knew it, we had arrived at our destination. When we stopped in Anadolu Kavagi, we meandered the winding streets, popping into a few stores, taking photos, and of course grabbing some ice cream! It was a nice opportunity to see a local town outside the bustling Istanbul. We got to see the fishing boats and fishermen prepping their catches of the day. We had about an hour to explore the town, and then it was back on the boat for watermelon and post-lunch relaxing as we glided back to Istanbul.

The Bosphorus lunch cruise was one of my favorite day tours I’ve ever taken. The boat ride was smooth, lunch was great, and I loved that we had free time off the boat to explore an area in Turkiye that I never would have scouted out on my own. If you’re interested in a relaxing afternoon, witnessing views of Istanbul from the water, and enjoying Turkish food, this tour is for you! The link to the tour is here!

❤ Natalie Anne

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Amalfi Coast and Pompeii from Rome in a Full Day Tour with TripAdvisor Review | Rome, Italy Travel Tips

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Over the years, we’ve learned that one of the most complicated parts of traveling is figuring out how to get from Point A to Point B. It can be a lot to try to organize transportation, entry fees, restaurants, and tour guides, let-alone trying to figure out how to put gas in the car and get a license to drive in a foreign country! So instead of stressing ourselves out, we just book day trips from a central location so that we can see everything while staying in one hotel. It makes things so much easier. Not to mention, when we were in Italy, we were traveling with our parents, husbands, and siblings. It was a lot of people to satisfy and a lot of personalities to navigate.

As a photographer, I knew that I had to plan a day trip from Rome to see the Amalfi coast. When I found this tour – The Amalfi Coast and Pompeii from Rome in a Full Day Tour – I knew right away it was the perfect tour for our family. It included a 2 hour visit to the ruins of Pompeii (which I knew would make the history buffs in our group happy) as well as 2 hours in the coastal town of Positano for lunch and a 1 hour visit in the town of Amalfi. My sister and her new husband were actually honey-mooning in Positano at the time too, so it was absolutely perfect! We had all just spent a week in Tuscany for their wedding at the stunning hotel, Borgo Tre Rose, and then parted ways after a group day in Florence. You can actually watch our full wedding week in Tuscany on my YouTube channel here!

Our tour started bright and early at 7:00 am, but this specific tour included hotel pick-ups and drop-offs which makes such a difference that early in the morning. We didn’t have to waste time hunting for the meeting point, like we’ve had to do for some other tours we’ve taken in the past. It was a bit of a drive to Pompeii but we made a pit stop for espresso which broke up the journey a bit. As soon as we got to Pompeii, our tour guide handled the tickets and we were in right away. We were led throughout the ruins by an extremely knowledgeable guide who explained everything in exciting detail. Personally, I’m not a huge history fan, but this tour actually kept my interest, which is saying a lot! Pompeii is truly a fascinating place and the structures are beautiful. It’s incredibly amazing that there is still so much left of the ancient city after being buried under ash for over 1500 years!

After about 2 hours at Pompeii, we hopped back in the van to head to the coast. We stopped for gorgeous views and photo ops along the way, which helped those of us who were a little carsick from the winding roads along the coast. I always make sure to take Bonine, a motion sickness medication, that I prefer over Dramamine. It’s less drowsy and can be found on Amazon here. This tour wasn’t as bad as some of the ones I’ve taken in the past, like the Road to Hana in Hawaii or the winding roads in the highlands of Scotland on the way to Loch Ness!

When we got to Positano, our driver had to park at the top of the hill with the other tour buses, just because the roads are too tiny for cars to go down. The walk down the hill was charming though, with souvenir shops, gelato, clothing stores, and all kinds of things to keep our interest. We met my sister and her now-husband for light lunch at Ristorante La Pergola and then spent the rest of our time taking photos on the beach! Positano was so quaint and charming, we never wanted to leave! I made a promise to myself that if I ever get back to Italy, I’ll definitely spend a few days lying on the beach in Positano.

After stopping for a quick gelato on our way back up to the van, we made our way to the town of Amalfi. The sun was beginning to set and the town was absolutely glowing in the golden lighting. We watched sailboats coming in and strolled along the marina where our driver dropped us off. After taking a million photos, we headed into the town square, the Piazza Duomo, for a round of limoncello shots and a gander at the Cathedral of Sant’Andrea. We only had about an hour and a half in Amalfi, but honestly, it felt like plenty of time because the town is actually quite small. We were even able to pop into a few stores for souvenirs before it was time to jump back in the van.

On the way back to Rome, we stopped for one last view of the coastline and were able to catch gorgeous sunset colors over the coastal towns. The drive back to Rome felt a little long, but almost everyone fell asleep after our long day. We made it back to Rome around 7:00 pm, with just enough time left in the day for wine and pasta. It was a perfectly Italian day and was exactly what I was looking for when we were planning our trip.

I’d highly recommend this tour to anyone who wants to take a day trip to the Amalfi coast from Rome. We saw so much in a single day and made so many memories. It wasn’t necessarily on my list to visit Pompeii, but many of the people in our group found it to be the highlight of their day, learning the history of the ancient, buried city. It was a perfect tour for our large group and was absolutely way easier than trying to figure out a full day like this myself. If you’re interested in taking this same tour, you can find it here! Or you can check out all of the tours I recommend in Italy here!

I hope this post inspires you to take a trip to Italy or plan a day trip to the Amalfi coast if you’re staying in Rome. I promise you, you’ll never regret visiting Italy. It’s truly a magical, delicious, inspiring place! You can see more photos from our trip on my photography blog here!

If you’re still on the hunt for a hotel in Rome, I’d recommend the Hotel Le Clarisse al Pantheon if you’re a budget traveler, or the Pantheon Iconic Hotel if you don’t mind spending a little extra for luxury. If you’d prefer not to waste time planning out all of the details, check out some of the package deals to Rome on Expedia that include airfare & hotels all in one!

Happy travels!

❤ Myles Katherine

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