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!

Hostelworld

If you’re just traveling on holiday, chances are you probably aren’t going to be staying at a hostel. However, if you’re planning on doing some long-term travel, hostels are a great way to save money and meet fellow travelers. I used Hostelworld constantly as I was traveling throughout Southeast Asia and Australia. The mobile app (and website) lets you search any location with selected dates and provides you with all the hostels around with cost per night. It also provides filters on price, rooms (single vs dorm, etc), facilities (lockers, free wifi, etc), rating and type (hostel vs apartment vs B&B). When using the mobile app, you can turn your location on and the app will geo-filter all the hostels close to you. Additionally, a new feature the mobile app just released is called “Speak the World”, which uses Google Cloud Translate software to instantly translate up to 43 languages.

I will say that I had a bit of trouble using the mobile app interface- it was quite slow and sometimes would close out unexpectedly. I found myself using the website more often, which was always quick. Regardless, the user experience on mobile and web is really simple and easy to navigate.

Skyscanner

When traveling long-term you have the advantage of being on your own schedule. Every day doesn’t have to be planned out weeks before nor do you have to book accommodations far in advance. When I began my trip, the only flights I had booked were to my first stop, Bangkok and my flights coming home four months later from New Zealand. I had six countries to visit on my trip, but hadn’t planned exactly what places I’d be headed to and when. Skyscanner made it super easy to search for the cheapest flights by month instead of particular days, which saved me a lot of money. This is one of my favorite flight search engines that I have been using and recommending for years!

Some of my favorite features on Skyscanner include:

1. Whole Month View

If you’re flexible on timing and dates, this feature is THE best. Simply enter in the airports you’re flying in and out of and in the date section chose the “Whole Month” option and either chose a specific month or click “Cheapest Month” for the cheapest flight currently available.

2. Everywhere Search

Feeling bouts of Wanderlust but not sure where to go? Enter in the airport you’re flying out of and then in the “To” column, simply type in “Everywhere”. You then have the option to choose specific dates or months and results will appear for countless countries with the cheapest estimated options.

3. Price Alerts

This feature allows you to set up price alerts for a specific flight search. You will get notified when the price drops or rises so you can jump on a great deal. When using the website, you can set up email alerts or download the mobile app and get notifications straight to your phone.

Another travel tip: Always use Google Chrome’s incognito mode when searching for flights. Websites track your browser cookies and can therefore raise prices to get you to book quickly. So make sure you’re in incognito mode and clear your browser history and cookies.

Check out some great summer deals on Skyscanner below!

• WOW Air Flash Sale
• Flight Deals Under $100
• Cheap Flights to Nicaragua *deals end May 31*

*I’ve partnered with Skyscanner to share with you my favorite site for flight deals. I’ve used Skyscanner for years and highly recommend it!

TripAdvisor

Unfortunately for us Americans, Yelp doesn’t exist all over the world. Insert TripAdvisor- the best place to find restaurants, hotels, sights and more. I used this app a lot when traveling and with its great geo-location feature, finding whatever you need around you is so simple. They also recently updated their mobile app and website to include flights, vacation rentals, booking tours and more.

Southeast Asia especially thrives on tourism and I didn’t realize how important a simple TripAdvisor review could be to a restaurant or local business. There were countless occasions where owners would politely ask me to leave a review for them because it really impacted their business. I started to write reviews instead of just passively using the app as I too rely on reviews when traveling and visiting restaurants, hotels, etc.

Google Maps

Luckily this is an app most of us already have on our smartphones. Google Maps has a great offline maps feature that enables you to download a map so that when there is no connection, internet is slow or we don’t want to use data, one can still navigate their way around. The app lets you chose how wide of an area you want to download, and even though it does take up phone storage, you can delete it once you no longer need it.

Another app I saw many travelers using was called MAPS.ME– a similar program to Google Maps. So if you don’t already have Google Maps or want to try something different, check it out!

Campermate

This app is only relevant if you’re traveling to New Zealand, but I wanted to share regardless as it’s super helpful. If you followed along on my trip a few months ago you’ll remember I traveled through the South Island of New Zealand in a campervan. When traveling in a campervan its important to know where the petrol stations, dump stations and campsites are located. Campermate makes it extremely easy to find all of this and more. What’s also great about the app is that you can add in new locations and travel tips like secret swimming holes or free campsites. This app is a MUST if you plan on traveling by campervan through NZ!

Grab

Grab is like Uber but for Southeast Asia. While Uber does exist in some of these areas, Grab is more well-known. With the app you are able to request a taxi, motorbike, car, van, coach bus, and even carpool. The service is available in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and Myanmar.

The post My Favorite Travel Apps appeared first on The Adventure Scout.

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.

Our first destination for the night was at an awesome Airbnb we found in Marshfield, Vermont (northeast of Montpelier.) So as we continued our drive through New York and into Vermont, we stopped to go hiking at Lye Brook Falls. This is a short two mile hike that runs through the Lye Brook Wilderness of the Green Mountain National Forest near Manchester. As you follow the blue markers on the trail you’ll end up at Vermont’s highest waterfall at 125 feet.

Well, after balancing across a creek, walking on ice and slipping one too many times we arrived at the waterfall….and it was completely dry and frozen. Nonetheless, this hike was really nice and would be perfect to visit in the summertime!

Back on the road we continued making our way to Marshfield. We stopped to have an early dinner and when we got back to the car, it had started snowing. After a couple more hours of driving, an hour of which we were completely stopped due to an accident and driving in a blizzard, we finally had made it to our Airbnb.

With snow on the ground and surrounded by nature, we finally felt like we were in the winter wonderland we were hoping for. Our Airbnb was a tiny house, meaning it was just one big room. Selene, our host, greeted us warmly and even gave us a little basket of fresh eggs from her hen! Named The Hyggelig Hytte, our Nordic cabin was inspired by Selene’s trip to the Faroe Islands in 2013 and for her love of the Viking Age.

The cabin is a tiny 144 square feet (of amazingness) and is located behind her house that sits on 11 acres of forest! She provides coffee, tea, yogurts, oatmeal and will even bring you fresh produce from her garden during the season. There are many hikes to explore around her property, which can be enjoyed any time of the year. During winter she has snowshoes and sleds for her guests to use and enjoy. Also located next to the cabin in a sauna, which Jonathan and I used to warm ourselves up during the snowfall!

We woke up the next morning and it was still snowing! It was so lovely to watch the snow fall from our magical cabin in the woods. We made our fresh eggs for breakfast along with some oatmeal and hot chocolate. The Hyggelig Hytte is truly a unique cabin and is definitely one to put on the bucket list! Check out the listing on Airbnb here.

We were so sad to leave the cabin but had another full day of exploring Vermont ahead of us. We hopped in the car and headed to Montpelier to visit a local bakery and plan out our day. The temperature was too cold to go hiking, so we decided to have a gluttonous day and eat our way to Burlington,Vermont.

First stop was the Cabot Creamery in Cabot, Vermont. Cabot runs as a co-op and is therefore own by over 1,000 farm families in New England. They offer a full line of dairy products including cheese, butter, sour cream, cottage cheese and yogurt, all of which are made in New England. At the visitor’s center you can get a tour through the creamery and of course try freshly-made samples. My friends know I’m not the biggest fan of cheese, but I have warmed up to it in recent years.

Stuffed on cheese and crackers, the only obvious next destination was the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Waterbury, Vermont. Alongside the ice cream shop, you can take a tour through the factory and sample ice cream they only make at the factory.

By mid-afternoon we had finally made it to Burlington. As we drove through town, we decided to first stop down at Lake Champlain. During peak winter months the lake’s surface can completely freeze over, but most of the ice had melted when we were there.

Up the hill from the lake is Church Street. This street is closed to traffic and is the main area for shopping and restaurants. After browsing around we decided to head to Citizen Cider for cider flights and a snack. The space was really cute and the perfect way to end our day of exploring Vermont.

The next morning we woke up early, grabbed breakfast and hit the road for Montreal. Only a two hour drive from Burlington, Montreal is an easy trip even for a day. Crossing the border was very quick and easy, and the roads are nice and flat making the drive very comfortable.

We began our first day wandering through Old Montreal, which is the oldest part of the city. The cobblestone streets and european architecture make for a charming walk-through.

Located right on the Saint Lawrence River, the Old Port is also a nice walk to take next to the old town. During the winter the river is frozen over, but in summertime there is an urban beach that opens by the Clock Tower.

After feeling completely frozen from walking around, we stopped at a French restaurant in Old Montreal for some french onion soup!

Continuing our walk through Old Montreal our next stop was the Notre-Dame Basilica. This Gothic Revival church was built in the 1820s and houses a massive century-old pipe organ containing 7,000 individual pipes and beautiful stained glass depicting scenes from Montreal’s religious history. I highly recommend staying for the short 20 minute tour which describes the fascinating history of the church.

On our last day in Montreal, we decided to start the day visiting Mount Royal Park. The summit has a nice lookout over Montreal, but getting there in winter is a bit tricky. That doesn’t stop the locals from enjoying the outdoors as we saw multiple bikers, runners, snowshoers and cross-country skiers.

We were lucky to visit this area in March as it was prime maple syrup season. There are many sugar shacks you can visit where you can observe the process of making maple syrup and of course try samples! We visited one called Érablière Charbonneau, located less than an hour from Montreal. All the maple trees surrounding the property had buckets tapped for the sap to pour into.

In cold climates, maple trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter. Then right before spring, the starch is converted to sugar and rises in the sap. The trees are then tapped by drilling holes into their trunks and collecting the sap. The sap is then boiled to evaporate much of the water, leaving you with delicious maple syrup.

One of my requests on this trip was to spot a moose. I had heard these were very rare to spot in the area we were in, but that didn’t stop me from being on moose watch while sitting passenger side in the car. On our way back into Montreal from the sugar shack, I SPOTTED ONE right off the highway! It was absolutely massive and just grazing away off the road.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in Montreal walking through the neighborhood and checking out a brewery.

Our drive back to Brooklyn took around seven hours from Montreal, which isn’t too bad if you leave in the morning. All in all this trip was a nice getaway from the city and is totally doable in just a few days. If you’re ever in need of a New York City escape, look no further than Vermont and Montreal!

The post Escaping NYC: Vermont and Montreal appeared first on The Adventure Scout.

*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!

Queenstown

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.

Another activity we really enjoyed was taking a ride on the TSS Earnslaw. This ship, launched in 1912, is a twin screw steamer that is the only remaining commercial passenger-carrying coal-fired steamship in the Southern Hemisphere. Known as the Lady of the Lake, she provided an essential link between the isolated farming communities along the lake and the outside world.

We booked a tour that cruised down Lake Wakatipu to the Walter Peak High Country Farm. It was really interesting to be inside the engine room as the ship was sailing to watch how the crew keeps the boat moving. Once on the farm, we enjoyed an amazing BBQ lunch outside. We strolled the gardens and watched a demonstration on how farm dogs round up sheep from the hill paddocks. All in all, this was a fun experience and would recommend doing it!

On our last day in Queenstown we explored the downtown area, which was full of restaurants, boutiques and art galleries. Just to the east of the downtown area are the Queenstown Gardens, which are definitely worth a walkthrough. One minute you’re walking through a rose garden and the next through a forest of evergreens.

Overall, Queenstown is a charming little city. There is so much to see and do in and around the area such as hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, wine tasting, sky diving, bungee jumping (where it originated!), paragliding, you name it. Queenstown is sure to make you fall in love with New Zealand!

Milford Sound

Heading south of Queenstown one late afternoon, our next destination was Milford Sound. On our way, we overnighted in Te Anau, the last town you hit before making your way up Route 94 to Fiordland National Park. We started our journey to Milford early the next morning as we had heard the drive was beautiful and to expect to stop along the way many times. The drive was indeed stunning and we got to see sights such as Eglinton Valley, Mirror Lakes, Earl Mountains, and the Homer Tunnel. This tunnel, which is hewed from solid granite, took about 20 years to complete. It’s only one lane, and when driving through you can see the rocks poking out from all sides. Truly a unique experience to drive through!

Just outside the tunnel we spotted a Kea parrot and pulled over so I could snap a picture. I figured I wouldn’t be able to get too close, but this little guy hopped right over to me. This bird is the only endemic alpine parrot in the world, meaning it only lives in one geographic region. They are innately curious and therefore are not afraid to come close to tourists. New Zealand has signs posted around this area warning that if you leave your car door open, this bird will in fact hop in!

As we passed through the tunnel, we started our descent into the Milford Sound. We stopped a few more times to explore some trails, rivers and fauna. When we finally reached our destination, we headed into the information center and booked our boat tour, which is the only way to see Milford Sound up close. *You can also kayak the Sound, which we would have done if we had more time!*

Milford Sound is located at the northern most end of Fiordland National Park on the South Island. In some areas reaching over 1,300 feet deep, this sound is actually a fiord. While a sound is a river-formed valley flooded by the sea, a fiord is formed by the erosive effects of a glacier.

Milford Sound can receive up to 26 feet of rain a year, making it the wettest inhabited place in New Zealand. The rainfall creates many temporary, and permanent, waterfalls cascading down the cliff faces. As rainfall drains through the forests, it becomes stained with tannins until it reaches an almost dark brown/black color, which blocks much of the sunlight from the lower salty layer. Marine life therefore hangs out near the surface including dolphins, penguins, seals and sometimes even whales.

Wanaka

Heading out of Milford Sound, the only way to travel is the same way you came in. So after driving back through Te Anau and Queenstown, we were on our way to Lake Wanaka to do some hiking. Only a 1.5 hours drive north of Queenstown, Wanaka is a small resort town known for their year round outdoor activities. I had seen so many iconic photos of this one particular hike in Wanaka that I requested we make a stop on our way north to hike it.

Roy’s Peak Track is a 10 mile hike with a summit at just over 5,100ft. This track is challenging and zig-zags all the way to the top. While tough, and even exhausting at times, walking through the alpine meadows surrounded by sheep was really lovely. We were bummed out for a good portion of our hike because the clouds rolled in and obstructed our view of virtually anything and everything. We reached the summit and felt so defeated because we couldn’t see a damn thing.

Thankfully, as we started to walk down the clouds lifted and we finally were able to admire the stunning views of the lake and mountains below. Overall, this hike took us about 5 hours total, so it’s best to carve out half the day for it!

If you’re looking for a nice, casual stroll, Roy’s Peak is not the hike for you. It’s hard, really hard, but the views are awesome. Additionally, if you have bad knees, I don’t recommend it. Take LOTS of water, wear good shoes, and go at your own pace.

After we finished our hike, we decided to head into town for a well deserved meal and relax by the water. The afternoon was beautiful and we enjoyed taking a nap on the grass in the sunshine.

West Coast

From Wanaka we headed north on Route 6, which takes you up the west coast of New Zealand along the Tasman Sea. Along the way you’ll pass by both Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers, which have gravel paths you can walk to get closer to the glaciers. I was really looking forward to skydiving over one of the glaciers but the weather was too overcast and rainy.

Other sights to see on the west coast include the many beaches on the Tasman Sea, beautiful rivers, forests and lakes, and the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks.

Be careful when driving this route as the roads are super narrow and winding!

Abel Tasman

Towards the end of Route 6 on the northern coast of the South Island, you’ll reach Abel Tasman National Park. Established in 1942, it is the smallest National Park in New Zealand and its mild climate makes it a great place to visit year round. The park has multiple beautiful golden sandy beaches that are easy to get to by water taxi, or if you have more time, opt for the 3-5 day coast trek that takes you all the way through the park.

Since we only spent the day in Abel Tasman, we took the water taxi out to one of the beaches to relax for a few hours. To get on the water taxi you must first drive to the tiny town of Marahau at the southern end of the park. You can’t physically drive in the park, so this is where the road ends. There is a small info center where you can buy your taxi tickets and they pick you up right outside. It was a really fun experience, as you get picked up IN the boat, which is being pulled behind an old Ford tractor. When the tide is low, the tractor is able to go straight down into the water and release the boat.

The captain then takes you around the area, describing some of the nearby sites and giving a bit of history about the park. Our boat spotted a small Blue Penguin swimming in the water, which was apparently rare to see! We finally arrived at Anchorage Bay Beach, which we explored for a few hours and relaxed on the beach.

Abel Tasman is definitely worth a visit and I would recommend doing a multi-day trek through the park if you can!

Blenheim

If you head east of Abel Tasman you’ll run into a small town called Blenheim. This would be our last stop in New Zealand and it’s located in the Marlborough region, a.k.a wine country! This region is the leading wine producing area in New Zealand. The weather is perfect for growing Sauvignon Blanc grapes – very dry, warm and sunny days, and cool nights.

There are dozens of wineries in the area, so you’re bound to find a favorite. We opted to start at the Saint Clair Family Estate for some wine tasting and lunch. The property was beautiful and wine and food was delicious.

Our second stop was at the Villa Maria Vineyard. We sampled a few varietals and learned a lot about why the area is so good for producing wine.

Both of these vineyards were delicious and we could have spent another few days hopping from one wine tasting to the other! This area is definitely a place to relax and unwind, so it was a great way to end our trip.

Overall, New Zealand was an incredible country to explore. While we only got to see the South Island, I’m already hooked on this place. Renting a campervan was such a fun experience and absolutely the best way to take in all the country has to offer. One of my top favorite destinations to date thus far, I will most certainly be returning!

Check out some other photos from my New Zealand trip on my photography page here!

The post Campervanning Through New Zealand: Part 2 appeared first on The Adventure Scout.

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.

Renting a campervan or car is definitely the way to travel around the country. The South Island has some beautiful towns to explore, but it’s outside these places that you find the true magic of New Zealand. There are so many campervan and car rental companies in New Zealand that it’s not a problem finding something to fit your needs. After weeks of comparison researching (thanks, Jacek!) we found our perfect campervan with Britz Campervans. This beaut, which we appropriately named Smeagol, came fully loaded with room for four, a kitchen, bathroom, fridge, and even wifi!  It was a great van and was definitely one of the more outfitted ones compared to many others we saw on the road. It can be annoying to have to deal with having to dump waste water every other day with a huge campervan. Having one that was “fully-loaded” gave us the ability to freedom camp, which helped cut down costs on paying for campsites!

Once we got a full tour of our campervan, we were given our TomTom GPS tablet that would help us navigate our journey, find campsites, and more. We had a love/hate relationship with the TomTom (more hate than love) and definitely don’t recommend using it as a personal device. BUT, since it came with the van, we put it to good use throughout the trip, especially when we needed to stock up our fridge and pantry. Insert Pak’nSave– the Costco of New Zealand. New Zealand is expensive and knowing we’d be on the road for two weeks, we definitely could not rely on eating out for every meal. Pak’nSave is THE place to go to stock up on food for reasonable prices. It was fun roaming the aisles and seeing what produce they had, and confusing the employees when asking for eggs because they pronounce it “iggs.”

About a three hour drive from Christchurch was our fist destination for the night, Lake Tekapo. It is the second-largest of three lakes that run north to south along the Mackenzie Basin (others are Pukaki and Ohau.) The Godley River feeds into the lake, which gets its water from the Southern Alps. We were lucky enough to visit Lake Tekapo during the blooming stage of the famous lupins, which surround the shores of the lake between mid-November and December. The views of the lake, lupins and distant Mount Cook were magnificent and a great end of our first day in New Zealand!

While the lupins are incredibly beautiful to admire, we learned that they are actually an aggressive weed that impacts the surrounding ecosystem. The dense strands of the lupins shade out other plant communities hindering their growth, keep predators hidden threatening nesting and feeding birds, and form steep banks on rivers from their roots making the area unsuitable for wading birds to feed.

One super helpful app that we used to find campsites each night was called Campermate. Not only does it source all of the campsites around your area, it identifies them as freedom campsites, Department of Conservation sites, or other campgrounds. This helped us plan our routes so we could always end our days at freedom campsites, when possible. Not only does the app help find sites, it also alerts you of road conditions, things to do, closest dump stations for water, etc.

When we arrived at our first freedom campsite, there were no other cars in site and we had no idea whether or not it was truly a place to camp or not. If you freedom camp outside the designated areas, you can get a fine, and that was not how we wanted to start off our trip. Luckily one other van showed up later in the evening, so we finally relaxed and enjoyed some New Zealand beers and burgers to celebrate our trip!

The next morning we woke up very early since Jacek and Jordan were still on USA time. Jacek and I watched the sunrise, made some breakfast and then headed back on the road to our second destination, Lake Pukaki. Only a 45 minute drive from Lake Tekapo, the views of Lake Pukaki were amazing. It’s infamous turquoise color comes from finely ground minerals that are carried from the glacier-fed waters. The lake overlooks Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park with stunning views of Mount Cook/Aoraki- New Zealand’s highest peak at 12,316 feet.

Only a 25 minute drive from Lake Pukaki, Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park was our next stop of the day. The park is named after its highest mountain- Aoraki/Mount Cook. Aoraki is the original Maori name meaning “cloud piercer.” The English name honors Captain James Cook, the 18th century navigator that first circumnavigated New Zealand and claimed it in honor of the English Crown.

There are multiple treks you can do in the park ranging from day to multi-day. We opted for a day trek on the popular Hooker Valley Track. This trek takes three hours and leads up the Hooker Valley, along the Hooker River and ends at a glacier lake. All along the way there are impressive views of Mount Cook and the surrounding park. We witnessed two small avalanches as we started our hike, which were amazing to see and thankfully were witnessed from a very far away distance. The track is mostly flat but there are three swing bridges to cross that are very, well, swingy. Crossing those on a windy day was a fun adventure for us!

We were lucky enough to find a freedom camping spot right on Lake Pukaki and spent the rest of the evening watching the sunset and enjoying our campfire. On our third day, our mission was to make it to Queenstown. About a four hour drive with stops, we passed through lupin fields, turquoise colored rivers, and even stopped at a glider airport as Jordan is a pilot!.

As this was the last stop on my epic adventure, I was taking in every day and really enjoying the time I had left abroad. We were only on day three and I had already fallen in love with New Zealand. We still had so much left to see and I already knew I wanted to come back to visit again one day.

I have so many wonderful pictures from New Zealand that I didn’t want to cram everything into one post. I’ll be posting the rest of my New Zealand adventure in the next coming weeks!

In the meantime, check out some other photos from Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki and Mount Cook on my photography page here!

The post Campervanning Through New Zealand: Part 1 appeared first on The Adventure Scout.

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!

With only four days to explore, I opted to take a flight over to Hobart (the capital city of Tasmania) instead of taking the ferry from Melbourne to the northern part of the island.

*If you have more time and want to take the more “scenic” route through the Bass Strait, check out the Spirit of Tasmania for ferry prices.*

The best way to get around the island is by car, so I decided to give driving on the left side of the road a shot. I booked my rental car through Europcar and after sitting in the driver’s seat (which is on the right side of car) for about 10 minutes, I finally told myself it was now or never. I pulled out of the lot, drove down the road and instead of turning on what I thought was the turning signal, I activated the windshield wipers. Apparently even those are on the opposite side of the steering wheel! I probably did that a good 10 times on my trip and couldn’t help but just laugh.

Below is an overview of the stops I made on my road trip, which are just a few of the best areas to explore in Tasmania!

Freycinet National Park

The first destination on my Tasmanian road trip was Freycinet National Park to see the famous Wineglass Bay. Driving up the east coast on the A3 Tasman Highway, also known as the Great Eastern Drive, you pass through beautiful farmland, coastlines, and rolling hills. About 2.5 hours from Hobart, Freycinet National Park encompasses most of the Freycinet Peninsula and looks out to the Tasman Sea to the East.

Wineglass Bay is considered one of the best beaches in the world with its pristine white sand, crystal blue waters and beautiful granite peaks. This perfectly curved beach is a short 1.5 hour day hike down to the beach and lookout, but you can turn it into a multi-day hike to explore more remote beaches.

Freycinet is a great place to go and relax on the beach, explore the peninsula on multi-day hikes, and take to the water for some kayaking or fishing. Camping is available inside the park but is allocated by ballot each August. I only had one day to explore so I opted to stay in the little coastal town of Swansea at a backpackers lodge about an hour’s drive from the park.

Cradle Mountain – Lake St Clair National Park

The next stop on my trip was to Cradle Mountain, located on the northwestern side of the island. The drive from Swansea is just over three hours on National Highway 1 and is absolutely beautiful. I never felt bored while driving through Tasmania because the scenery and wildlife you spot is so exciting! There are not many cars on the road, so there are times you feel like you’re the only one on the whole island.

Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park is known for its world-famous Overland Track and picturesque Cradle Mountain. It’s part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area where glacial lakes, rugged mountains and rich vegetation can be seen. The park also is home to interesting wildlife like wombats, echidnas, platypus and many others.

It’s easy to spend a few days in the park as there are many day and multi-day hikes to explore. The famous Overland Track is a 65 km, six-day hike that ends at Lake St Clair. I was lucky enough to walk the first few kilometers of the track and fell in love with the scenery and wildlife. This national park really stuck out to me in terms of beauty and wildlife and is on my list to return to in the future!

Hobart

Located on the southeastern side of the island, Hobart is Tasmania’s capital city and the second oldest city in Australia. The city is centered around the harbor and is extremely walkable. Stroll through the harbor, walk down Salamanca Square for some eating and shopping, and visit a few of the local art galleries. If you’re there on a Saturday, check out the Salamanca Markets for some great local crafts and foods. Hobart is also a great jump-off spot for day trips to Mt. Wellington, Bruny Island and Port Arthur.

Cape Raoul

With only one day left in Tassie, I chose to explore the Tasman Peninsula and hike to Cape Raoul. A two hour drive from Hobart, the Cape Raoul track takes about five hours to complete roundtrip. It’s located very close to Port Arthur, which is another great area to explore if you have more time.

Roads leading to the Cape Raoul track are narrow and windy and you end up on a dirt road for the last few miles. There’s a book for hikers to log their hike at the start of the trail, and since I was by myself this seemed like a wise idea. Not sure whether or not it would rain given the dark clouds above, I started the hike regardless and was in awe of the views I encountered. Beautiful coastal lookouts, lush green forests, steep sea cliffs, and so many pademelons (animal similar in looks to a wallaby).

I’m so glad that I decided to add Tasmania to my itinerary and explore the island. If you love being outdoors, this is the place for you. I already can’t wait to return and explore more of the island!

Check out more photos in my Tasmania album here!

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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.

I was hoping to rent a car to drive at my leisure but many car rental places were booked out or too expensive. Instead I opted instead for a day trip with a travel company that ended up being better than I expected!

One thing to keep in mind for a day trip is that it will actually take all day. I was picked up at 10:30am and didn’t return to my hostel until around 1am! The highway is one lane each way, so don’t plan on zipping through. Enjoy the beautiful scenery, stop at the numerous beaches and keep an eye out for koalas in the trees!

Highlights along the way were the Split Point Lighthouse, Gibson Steps, Lock Ard Gorge, spotting beautiful birds and some wild koalas, and of course, seeing the Twelve Apostles at sunset!

Whether you have a few days to explore or only one day, the Great Ocean Road is a must-see spot!

Check out some highlights below and more in my Great Ocean Road album here!

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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!

I flew into Cairns, a small town in northern Queensland. Queensland is the second largest state in Australia, located in north eastern Oz. It is best known for being home to the Great Barrier Reef and its warm, tropical climate. I of course wanted to do some diving, so I booked a day trip with Tusa Dive to do three dives. While it was a dream come true to dive this reef, it was sad to see how much of it is already damaged and bleached. The reef experienced the worst coral bleaching event in history this year, which has killed almost a quarter of the reef and is predicted to last until the end of 2016. Coral bleaching is directly caused by climate change. As the oceans temperatures rise, they absorb excess heat from the atmosphere, unfortunately caused by our use of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). If you’d like to help protect and preserve the Reef, click here to make a donation to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

To travel down the coast, I chose the popular backpacker’s transportation mode of Greyhound Bus. Outfitted with USB sockets, wifi and AC, these buses thankfully have entered the 21st century. What’s great about Greyhound in Australia is that you can buy a Hop On-Hop Off pass. This allows you to get on and off anywhere as long as you are heading in the same direction. I opted for the Cairns to Sydney pass and started my journey down the East Coast!

My next big destination was Airlie Beach, via a one night pit-stop in Hervey Bay, to check out the Whitsundays. I met Philip and John on the bus to Airlie Beach, so we stayed at the same hostel and had a nice time catching up and hearing about their first week in Oz after our diving trip in Indonesia!

With only one day in Airlie Beach, I booked a day trip to the Whitsundays on an ex-America’s Cup sailboat called the Southern Cross. I’ve never been sailing on a proper sail boat, so I was so excited to see how it was done first-hand. Of course there was zero wind the entire day so we didn’t even get to put the sails down.

The Whitsundays are made up of 74 islands, only eight of which are inhabited. It’s home to the famous Whitehaven Beach, which has been named as one of the top five beaches in the world. It’s no wonder its on the list because the beach is absolutely stunning. The pristine white beach is made from sand containing silica making it extremely soft to walk on and never gets hot.

After exploring Whitehaven Beach, we made our way to a patch of reef were we did some snorkeling. I spotted some nice corals and even swam with a turtle for a bit. Overall, this day tour was a great way to see the Whitsundays!

As a backpacker, I’m always looking for ways to save money. A great way to save on a night’s accommodation is to take a night bus. While a seat on a bus may not be as comfortable as a real bed, usually you get two seats to yourself and can spread out a bit. Another plus is that you’ll get to your destination in the morning and have the whole day to explore! So with that in mind, I departed Airlie Beach at 11pm for my 14 hour journey to Gold Coast.

As I finally got off the bus in Gold Coast, the first thing I noticed was that it was not humid and actually a bit chilly…something I was not used to having spent three months in Southeast Asia where I practically melted.

Gold Coast is your typical beach vacation town complete with restaurants, bars and nightlife. It wasn’t my first pick as a stopover, but with only one day, I didn’t feel like I would have been able to explore the Sunshine Coast like I really wanted to. Nonetheless, I took a nice afternoon walk on the beach, had drinks with a fellow traveler from Sweden that I met on the bus, and started the following morning with a beach run.

Knowing I was getting on the bus in the afternoon, I decided to spend the time I did have and visit one of Australia’s wildlife sanctuaries to see some koalas and kangaroos! The Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is an easy trip from town on the tram and bus, and a great way to spend half a day. There are many interactive exhibits you can participate in like feeding the kangaroos, holding koalas and feeding the lorikeets. While I REALLY wanted to hold a koala, I couldn’t suffice spending $20 to hold it for only 10 seconds and have my photo taken. I did however see an interesting bird show, pet some kangaroos, and get up and close with some other animals.

And back on the bus I went, thankfully only for about three hours this time. My next destination was Byron Bay, a popular beach town with a hippie, laid back vibe. Back at it with the one day explorations, I decided to check out the boutiques and beach in the morning and walk up to the lighthouse around mid-afternoon. I really loved the culture and vibe this town gave off and enjoyed relaxing on the beach watching the surfers. The lighthouse was an easy 45 minute walk with beautiful views from the top.

Rounding out my bus journey with a 13 hour overnight trip, I finally made it to Sydney! My cousin, Chris, and his two kids picked me up from the Sydney Central Station and headed to the Opera House to have lunch and walk around. We strolled through the Botanic Gardens and ended the day by taking the ferry to Manly Beach where they lived.

Over the next few days I explored the Manly Beach area, reunited with some fellow Edelman colleagues, and spent time with my family. It’s so great to be able to meet family around the world and make new connections. I loved getting to spend time with Chris, his wife Michelle and their two kids, Tommy and Anya. Such a wonderful family- I hope to see them again soon!

It was nice to relax in one place for a few days and really get the vibe for the area. Sydney has a slew of beaches, but the Manly area and surrounding beaches are really wonderful. On any given day you will find surfers, swimmers making their way from one beach to the next, snorkelers and sunbathers. The beach is a huge part of life in Sydney and I can see why!

After about five days in Sydney my next stop was Melbourne. I planned to spend one day driving the Great Ocean Road, but because of the weekend, cars were either booked out or expensive. I instead opted for a day bus trip and was pleasantly surprised! I’ll have a whole post dedicated to the Great Ocean Road, but I will hands down say this is a MUST-DO trip!

Melbourne reminded me a bit of New York City, which was comforting having been away from Brooklyn for three months! The city is centered around arts, culture, music and food. The public transportation system is really great, making it easy to get into the city if you’re staying outside of the Central Business District. If you’re traveling within the CBD, the tram is free! I enjoyed just roaming the streets, doing a bit of shopping, eating some good food and sitting in the parks and enjoying the sunshine.

There is so much to see and do on the East Coast! If you’re planning a trip to Australia and only have a short time, pick a few places you’d like to visit and spend some quality time there to really appreciate the areas. If you have a longer period to travel, I’d recommend renting a car and going at your own pace down, or up, the coast!

Check out more photos in my Australia albums here!

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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.

There is so much to see in Bali and I didn’t nearly get to spend enough time there- it served as more of a starting and ending point for me during my time in Indonesia. I started my trip by spending three days in Legian (on the west coast) to relax on the beach and take some surfing lessons. I will say I found the area to be very crowded and a little too much of a tourist trap, but it did have a nice beach and good waves for surfing.

When I came back to Bali at the end of my Indonesia trip, I decided to explore the area of Ubud – a little town about an hour’s drive north from the Denpasar airport. Surrounded by mountains, rice paddies and countryside, there is no question that Ubud is a beautiful area. It’s got a super healthy/vegan/yoga vibe to it and is a great place to come and relax your body and mind. Just walking the streets feels like you’re in the jungle, but wandering down side roads can lead you to beautiful rice fields for miles.

Next stop in Bali was the little west coast town of Canggu (pronounced “Chan-goo”). The surf is a bit rougher here, so only experienced surfers were out in the water. The beach wasn’t as nice to relax on as Legian, but it was nice to walk the small streets and pop in the small boutiques, surf shops and healthy cafes.

My last days in Bali were spent relaxing on the beach in Kuta, which in my opinion is the most crowded of places in Bali. It almost feels like you’re in the US with all the chain restaurants and stores- I was not a fan.

A few hours before I left for the airport to head to Australia, I headed south to a temple called Uluwatu (Pura Luhur Uluwatu), which sits on top of a steep cliff over the ocean. A majority of the people who live on Bali are Hindu while the rest of the country is mostly Muslim. The Hindus believe that the three divine powers of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva united as one here. As a result, the temple honors Siva Rudra, the deity of all elements and aspects of life in the universe. It is also said to help protect Bali from evil sea spirits.

If you’re visiting the temple around sunset you will be fortunate enough to witness the traditional Balinese dance and music drama called Kecak. It is based on a Hindu story of the Ramayana and is an amazing performance to see.

Bali has so much culture and activities to participate in. Whether you’re planning on only visiting Bali or just using it as a stopping point for a few days, the island is worth a visit!

Check out more photos in my Bali album here!

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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 kind of stumbled upon my liveaboard trip while I was on Gili T. I was diving with a shop called Gili Divers and had gone there one morning to pay for two fun dives I had done a few days before. As I was walking out of the shop I noticed a sign that said “Komodo Liveaboard” and decided to ask about it. Lucky for me, the next trip was leaving in two days! An eight day long journey, you sail from Gili T out to Komodo and back. A few other divers and I wanted to stop in Labuan Bajo, a town on the island of Flores, to do some exploring, so the trip was only five days for us.

On the day of our departure, we met at the dive shop to grab a beer and introduce ourselves to the other divers and dive masters. Our group was pretty small, which was great, and we were all super excited for the days ahead. In the late afternoon, we hopped on a small boat and rode out to the bigger island of Lombok where we boarded our “home” for the next five days.

The name of our wonderful vessel was “Epica” and it accommodates 16 people per trip. There were eight cabins in total with two beds in each, fresh water showers, bean bags on the upper deck to relax, and beer and sodas to purchase.The trip includes lodging, all meals (snacks are good to bring!), all scuba gear (BCD, mask, fins, wetsuit, etc), and national park fees.

The first night we sailed through the northern part of Lombok to the island of Moyo. Our boat was rockin’ and rollin’ and I ended up having to close the door to my cabin because I kept getting splashed with water! Our first morning we woke up at Moyo island and were briefed for our first dive of the day. Dive briefings usually consist of explaining the dive site, the route we may take, what we can expect to see, how deep we will descend, etc. They are really important to do so there are no surprises underwater.

We ended up doing three dives that day and saw some beautiful corals along with batfish, blue streak and yellow streak fusiliers, giant trevally, scorpion fish, trigger fish and much more! We ended our day with an awesome sunset in Satonda island and watched thousands of bats travel from the island across the water to the bigger island of Sumbawa to feed.

That night we also sailed until morning and woke up at 5:00AM to watch the sunrise over the Sangeang volcano. It was absolutely amazing and there was not another boat in site. Our first dive of the day was at the volcano at a site called Bubble Reef. The sand is black from the volcano, which made the color of the coral REALLY pop out. The dive site gets its name from the bubbles that come up through sand and when you bury your hands underneath, it’s really warm.

We then sailed to Komodo and began the start to more amazing dives. I’ve never seen any sharks while dives and finally on our second dive I saw my first ones! We spotted three white-tip reef sharks along with giant trevally, tuna, giant sweetlips, spaghetti garden eels, boxer shrimp, bumphead parrotfish, and so much more.

Because it was Halloween, we spent the evening dressing up like pirates and whatever other ideas we could think of with the clothes we had. That night, since we were anchored, I slept on the roof of the boat under the stars. With no light or light pollution in sight, the sky was completely filled.

The next day we started diving with currents. Currents are usually classified as being small, medium or strong and can really make a different on air consumption and route of your dive. We learned the importance of keeping our buoyancy level with our dive master and to most importantly, NOT PANIC. In small to medium currents, you are still able to swim against them, and most of the dives fell within those currents. In strong currents you can’t swim against them, which can be scary if you’re not careful!

Our first dive was at Crystal Rock and it was one of my favorite dives of the trip. The reef was stunning, with the corals being every color imaginable. We saw eight reef sharks and so many schools of fish!

Our third dive of the day was definitely the most challenging. We rode out to the dive site and our DM jumped in the water to check the current. We were definitely in for some medium current and potentially stronger. From the surface, you can actually see the current streams moving through the water and at times even whirlpools. We dove down and began our dive through calm waters spotting turtles, two reef sharks and a few schools of fish. About halfway through our dive, our DM swam up a rock surface and immediately grabbed hold of a rock (we were all wearing gloves for this reason) and gestured to us to swim up and find a place to hold on as well. I swam up, found a spot and immediately felt how strong the current was. No way you could swim against it. One other diver was below me and swam up to try and grab the spot the DM pointed out but accidentally bumped into me on the way and I lost my grip. I went flying backwards and ended up hitting my leg on a rock but was able to eventually turn around a find another piece to hold on to. Always an adventure!

(One of the many lionfish we saw on our dives! The loud *BANG* you hear at the end is the unfortunate result of dynamite fishing, which is an illegal practice as the explosions often destroy the reef and marine life below. I know I freaked out for a second after the blast went off because it was SO much louder in person.)

Another rule we learned about diving with current is that when one person lets go, everyone lets go. So as everyone saw me fly away, our DM signaled everyone to let go. Once we all had a good grip, we sat watching the reef for a few minutes to see if any big fish would swim by. Bigger fish like giant tuna and trevally along with sharks like to swim in stronger currents, so we were all on the lookout and managed to see some cool stuff.

Later that evening, we did a hike on the nearby island we were anchored at and watched the sunset. It was a steep way up, but the view was worth it!

The highlight of our fourth day diving was seeing all the manta rays. We sailed to our second dive sight and were just relaxing until our dive when someone spotted a manta ray at the surface. And then another. And then another. We all started freaking out, grabbed our masks and got in the water. We were just surface swimming with them, but we must have seen at least 30. It was beautiful watching them glide through the water so peacefully. After about 10 minutes we decided to go ahead and do our second dive to hopefully see more mantas. We probably saw another 25-30 on our dive and one came right over my head! Definitely a day I will never forget!

On our last day our first agenda item was to see the komodo dragons. We sailed to Rinca Island, one of the only islands the komodos live on, and had a 30-45 minute guided hike. We saw around 10 dragons and luckily got to see one by her nest. Afterwards, we ended our trip with one last dive and then sailed to Labuan Bajo.

Overall, the dive trip was amazing. The marine life was absolutely beautiful and it was refreshing to see coral reefs as they SHOULD look, unbleached and unbroken. Reefs are being destroyed all over the world due to factors like overfishing, unsafe fishing practices like dynamite fishing (which we witnessed on one of our dives), pollution, dredging, climate change, amongst other factors. Reefs provide homes to about 1/4 of all marine species and with the increased onset of bleached coral reefs, many of these species could be lost forever. Even just disposing of trash properly, conserving water and practicing responsible snorkeling and diving can help protect our reefs!

If you want to dive at some of the best sites in the world, dive in Komodo. You won’t regret it!

Check out more photos in my Komodo Liveaboard album here!

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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.

To get to Gili T, we took an hour bus ride to the east coast of Bali and hopped on a ferry that took us straight to the island. This was supposed to only take four hours total, but in typical Southeast Asian fashion, we arrived about six hours later. We had booked two nights at a hostel called Beach Camp right off the main road, so once we got off the ferry we walked right over.

The nice thing about Gili T is that there are no cars or motorbikes allowed, only bicycles. Very refreshing after dealing with crazy driving in all of Southeast Asia. However, everything is too good to be true, right? They of course have a different mode of transportation to terrorize the streets with- cimodos. Basically a cart and horse, this mode of transportation is unique to the Gili Islands and Lombok. Each driver has a horn (basically a clown horn) that they squeak nonstop when they are riding down the road so people move out of the way. While it was entertaining at first, I really didn’t like seeing them on the roads as the horses looked so overworked and skinny.

First things first for me when I head to a place with coral reefs is to check out the dive shops. Luckily, Tracey and I met a girl at our hostel, Sarita, who had a friend that was a Dive Master and had come to do some diving on the island. We met up with her at at a dive shop called Gili Divers and she sold me on booking some fun dives with them the following day. I signed up for a morning dive at a site called Shark Point, which I was REALLY excited about because I still hadn’t ever seen a shark while diving. Welp, of course we didn’t see any sharks and I was bummed. We did however dive around a shipwreck, which was cool! Additionally, I signed up for an afternoon dive at Halik Reef to check out the coral and maybe have a second chance at a shark. Nope, didn’t happen. Nice diving nonetheless!

After my morning dive, I met up with Tracey and Sarita on the beach and did some snorkeling. So many turtles! I think after all the snorkeling we did during the week we must have seen at least 20 turtles. We even spotted a baby turtle swimming next to us!

The sunsets on Gili T are amazing. While most of the restaurants and hostels are on the eastern side of the island, it is really easy to bike and even walk to the other side. The hardest part is picking which beach bar you want to sit at, sip on some Bintang and watch the sky.

Apart from diving and snorkeling, it is really nice to rent a bike and ride around the island. Tracey, Sarita and I did this one day and ended up riding to watch the sunset. The island is really small and can also be walked in roughly three hours.

Holding true to its party reputation, each night a different bar has a big party, so everyone always ends up there as the evening goes on. We listened to some great live music at Sama Sama Bar multiple nights and enjoyed walking up and down the streets to visit different bars.

As the days went on I was deciding what my next move would be. I either wanted to climb Mount Rinjani, a volcano on the island of Lombok, or make my way to the island of Flores to do diving around the Komodo Islands. After practically pulling my hair out figuring out which trip I would do, I ended up deciding to do a five day scuba diving boat trip that sailed to Flores and I’m glad I did! I’ll have a whole post dedicated to my experience, but I absolutely recommend this trip to all divers. Even if you don’t dive, there are trips that only do snorkeling. Sarita ended up doing that trip and she said she loved it!

While Bali is the most well known island in Indonesia, there are SO many other places to explore. I definitely recommend making a trip to the Gili Islands to spend time snorkeling/diving, relaxing, and enjoying some paradise!

Check out more photos in my Gili Trawangan album here!

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