Traveling without a cellphone or laptop these days is pretty much unheard of. There are so many tools we can use while traveling to make navigating foreign roads, finding the best restaurants and even booking flights as easy as 1, 2, 3. There are countless websites and mobile apps out there but I’ve put together a list of my favorites that I used while I was on my most recent trip!
After returning from my big trip a few months ago, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve been permanently infected with the travel bug. All I can think about is where I want to go next and when I can do it. While a big trip may not be in my super near future, I convinced Jonathan to take a few days off of work back in March to get out of New York City and enjoy the end of winter.
We decided on exploring around Vermont for a few days and then heading north to Montreal, as I had never been these areas before. The week prior to our trip the temperatures were in the 50s and 60s, tricking us into thinking spring had arrived early. We were a little bummed, as we figured there wouldn’t be anymore snow in Vermont and we were looking forward to some winter activities.
Regardless of what the forecast had in store, we packed our bags and headed out of New York City early on a Friday morning. Crossing the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey and making our way to I87, we were already seeing the temperatures drop. Somehow I managed to survive most of this winter season without a pair of gloves but I was not about to go without a pair if we were headed to Canada. Luckily we passed by Woodbury Commons on our drive, so I stopped to get a pair of gloves from The North Face and also ended up getting a fleece blanket for the car because #ComfortIsKey.
*This is part two of my New Zealand blog post. If you haven’t read part one, check it out here!
Continuing on our journey through New Zealand’s South Island, our next stop was Queenstown. Located on Lake Wakatipu and surrounded by the Remarkables mountain range, Queenstown is nothing short of beautiful. This small but energetic town is THE place to go for both a bit of relaxing and adventure. We spent just under three days in and around Queenstown and enjoyed every moment!
One of the must-do’s in Queenstown is to take the Skyline Gondola up the mountain for spectacular views of the town, the Remarkables and Lake Wakatipu below. Not only can you admire the gorgeous views, but you can do so while grabbing lunch or dinner and sipping on a cocktail at their restaurant and bar. It was the perfect place to sit by the fire and watch the sunset.
To say that New Zealand is just beautiful is an understatement. It’s ridiculously stunning and absolutely perfect. In the two weeks I spent traveling around the South Island with my oldest brother, Jacek, and his best friend, Jordan, I completely fell in love. Snow-capped mountains, glacial lakes, fiordlands, and of course the endless fields of sheep, I believe our word of the trip was “wow.”
If you’re looking to visit New Zealand, which I would encourage EVERYONE to do, I’d really suggest carving out at least two weeks. Originally we had planned to spend most of our two weeks on the South Island, as we had heard there was more to see and do, and end our last few days on the North Island. Since we were traveling in a campervan, we really had to plan out each of our destinations, distance and timing wise. We allotted additional driving time to our route since we were basically driving what felt like a giant bus on windy, New Zealand roads. By the end of our trip we realized it was going to be too ambitious to take the ferry and drive up the North Island in two days, so we ended up staying on the South Island for the whole trip.
When I began planning my trip to Australia, Tasmania wasn’t originally on the agenda. I didn’t know anything about it and sadly didn’t even know exactly where it was. After meeting a few travelers that had been through Australia, Tasmania kept coming up as a place not to miss. I started researching and found that it was full of national parks, outdoor activities and beautiful scenery. Still not knowing much about the island, I made the decision to go and was excited to explore a part of the country that not many people think to go to. Tasmania would be my last stop in Australia before heading to New Zealand, so with four days to explore the island I knew I would have a packed itinerary.
Tasmania is located off the southern coast of Australia and was founded by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642. It’s covered in beautiful forests, rugged mountains, picturesque coastlines and endless lakes, and over one-third of the island is protected by National Parks and World Heritage Areas. Additionally, it’s home to an abundance of rare plants and animals!
Traveling Australia’s coastline you see just how diverse the landscape is, from tropical beaches to rolling hills to giant cliffs with turbulent waters. The Great Ocean Road in the southern state of Victoria is known for beautiful seaside cliffs and is one of the most scenic coastal drives in the country. While I was in Melbourne I made sure to drive the Great Ocean Road to see one of Australia’s natural heritage areas!
The Great Ocean Road is a 90 minute drive from Melbourne, which spans 249 miles from the town of Torquay to Nelson. It is dedicated to the memory of the fallen soldiers of the First World War, making it the world’s largest war memorial. 330,000 Australians volunteered to fight in Europe, Turkey and the Middle East- 60,000 were killed and 110,000 wounded. The casualty rate of more than 64% was higher than any other nation engaged- Australia’s highest in any war. This loss had major repercussions for the returned men, so finding employment was a huge factor in their rehabilitation to civilian life. The GOR project offered these men a chance to work again- 3,000 Australian returned soldiers and sailors of the First World War helped to build it.
Australia is a HUGE country, so to try and tackle it in three weeks is very ambitious for anyone. It’s always been a dream of mine to visit, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to see the whole country in the three weeks I had planned to stay. So while this means I of course have to come back to see the rest of the country, I decided to focus on the East Coast for my trip.
While I initially only planned to see Southeast Asia on my trip, knowing I had family that lived in Sydney obviously meant I had to visit! I planned to make it to them from Cairns (northern Queensland) in a week’s time. That meant over 1,600 miles on a bus…in seven days. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!
There are over 17,000 islands that make up the country of Indonesia, but probably the most well-known island is Bali. Situated between the islands of Java (to the west) and Lombok (to the east), it has become a popular holiday destination for tourists since the 1980s. Whether you want great waves for surfing, coral reefs for snorkeling and scuba diving, mountains for hiking or mindfulness through yoga and meditation, Bali seriously has it all.
Being a lover of the water, getting scuba certified was something I always dreamed of doing. In 2011, I was fortunate enough to do my Open Water course in Utila, Honduras and swam with a whale shark. Yup, it was as amazing as it sounds and I thought my life was complete right then and there.
Now as a certified diver, I’m on the search to dive the best sites in the world. When I came to Thailand, I took my scuba certification further and became and Advanced Diver. I knew I wanted to do some diving in Indonesia and Great Barrier Reef, and being an advanced diver really gives you an advantage to see more underwater.
When planning for Indonesia, I knew I wanted to do some diving in Komodo, as I had heard it was some of the best diving in the world. Komodo Island is best known for being home to the komodo dragon, the largest lizard on Earth. The island became a National Park in 1980 and later was expanded to include the protection of the surrounding marine life and coral reefs. The park covers parts of western Flores, the islands of Komodo, Padar and Rinca, and 26 smaller islands. It’s pretty much every diver’s dream to dive in Komodo!
I arrived to Indonesia in mid-October to the island of Bali and didn’t really have a plan of what I was going to do. Diving, surfing, trekking and just overall exploring were all on my to-do list, so I had to figure out my days accordingly. I ended up only spending about three days on Bali before heading east to an island called Gili Trawangan with a girl I met at my hostel, Tracey. I’m doing more exploring in Bali toward the end of my time in Indonesia, so I’ll wait to do a post about the island when I do some more exploring!
Gili Trawangan (or Gili T) is the largest of three islands off the coast of Lombok, the next big island east of Bali. “Gili” means “small island”, so actually many of the islands in Indonesia have “Gili” in their name. Gili T has a reputation for being a big party island, so Tracey and I decided that we’d still check it out and could always move to the quieter island of Gili Air next door if we didn’t like it. Thankfully we were pleasantly surprised when we arrived and ended up really loving the island. I’m sure coming during low season helped with the crazy crowds.