If you happen to make Havana your base for your next trip to Cuba, don’t forget to do a day trip to Viñales, which is such an easy trip to do as a day tour from Havana. You can do it yourself or do it with an organized tour and it will not cost you more than $60. Highlights are coffee plantations and most especially that tobacco plantations which you can easily visit and test by yourself by smoking a big cigar made in front of you. [TOC] How to get to Viñales from Havana? Some people prefer to stay overnight or to stay two days because of the nice little village that they can just stay and relax. But most people do it as a day tour as there’s not much more to do than what you can do in one day. That’s what […]
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YEMEN – My 194th of 195 Country Visited – A One Week Expedition Across Socotra
Plunged into a Civil war since 2015, Yemen has been a difficult destination to visit on my quest to reach every one of the 196 countries of the world. I have been waiting for years to be able to go to Sana’a, the cultural capital of Yemen. But as I was planning to come in 2014, it became more and more dangerous for foreigners. It became too risky to make it to the country and soon after, the country fell into a never-ending war which is still raging strong at the time of writing this article. But even during wartime, there are always workarounds to enter a country. So how was it possible for me to spend a whole week in Yemen in 2019? The Secret was to go to Socotra, an island which is part of an archipelago of 4 islands located in the Arabian […]
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Piran, the Slovenian Jewel of the Adriatic Sea
Piran, also known as Pirano, it’s Italian name, shines as one of my favorite and most beautiful city on the Adriatic coast! After visiting Rovinj and choosing it as the most beautiful city of Croatia in a previous article, Piran is toe to toe with Rovinj, probably even more beautiful! No wonder Slovenia kept this tiny opening coast to the sea where Piran is located as part of their territory. An example of Italian Gothic Architecture Piran is actually very small, just about 5000 inhabitants, but definitely boosts that amount to several thousand more during the peak summer season when all the tourists are around. Its reputation is quickly gaining some momentum and soon this tiny little town will be on everybody’s itinerary as it boasts some impressive character. Chinese tourist groups are already on the lookout as I’ve seen tons of them during […]
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Visiting The Magical Istrian Mountain Towns in Croatia
Though the Istrian Coast gather much of the fame for its pristine blue seas and beautiful Venetian towns, another side of Istria should not be missed while visiting the area. The Istrian interior, a mixture of rolling hills, fertile plains and pine forests with medieval hilltop villages is just as impressive and interesting, making a day or two visit an ideal way to gasp in the experience! If you are the kind of person who gets enchanted by Toscany style Plaines, the Istrian Interior is sure to impress you just as much. Vineyard-dotted Hills and Medieval Towns The pace definitly slows down from the buzzing tourist lifestyle of the coast, but that’s actually a good thing! The main activity in this part of Croatia isn’t tourism as much, but rather wine-making, olive culture, asparagus harvesting and most importantly, truffle hunting (which you can actually take […]
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Canadian Newspaper LA PRESSE Publishes my Recommendations for Popular Destination Alternatives
For a third time, my travel recommendations were showcased in the Canadian Newspaper “La Presse”. The last time I was contacted by a journalist of the famous Canadian news outlet, I was asked to contribute to an article about Travel Recommendation for Top Destinations for Canadians in 2019. The article Can be found here. It was an interesting experience and gratifying since I have always read this newspaper growing up in Canada. This time around, I was asked to contribute to an article about Travel alternatives to popular destinations around the world. This was an interesting choice of subject since I am the first to complain that some cities are being totally ruined by the insane amount of tourism that roam their streets. This uncontrollable inflow of tourism is good for the local economy, but as a world traveler, I now sadly avoid to stay […]
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Saudi Arabia (Country 193/195) – 1 Week Traveling between Jeddah and Riyadh
I had been waiting for years to figure out a way to reach Saudi Arabia on my quest to travel to every country of the world. Being one of the closest countries in the world, Saudi Arabia recently made a 180-degree shift of policy to open its doors in a bid to kick-start tourism in the country. Not only did they start issuing tourist visas for special events starting late 2018, but it also has plans to build a touristic city a little bit in the style of Qatar and Dubai in the middle of the desert, and is already starting to invite several countries to come since 2018. I took advantage of a recent event called Jeddah Seasons to finally being able to explore the Kingdom after years investigating all the possible ways to come. This marked my 193rd country visited out of the […]
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Saudi Arabia Quietly Welcome Canadian Tourists to Visit the Kingdom for the First Time in History
With the recent political clashes between Canada and Saudi Arabia back in November 2018 over humans rights, with Saudi Arabia striking back by shutting down relations between the two countries, coming to the Kingdom was pretty much out of range for most Canadians. There has been no official warm up in the relations, but suddenly the government of Saudi Arabia quietly added Canada to its list of countries who can visit the country under its new “Sharek Tourist Visa”! This is great news for Canadian travelers and even for the relations between the two countries! At the time of writting, this has not yet been reported by news outlet or officially by neither govemenents. Actually I don’t even think the officials actually know about this prior to this article… and I pretty much found it by luck! So a new country is now available for […]
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Exploring Niamey in Niger – An Example for African Development – (My 192nd of 195 Country Visited)
Back to French-speaking Africa this time in a west-African nation. It was the peak summer season in Niamey, known to be one of the hottest cities in the world, situated in the middle of the Sahara desert! We landed at night and as soon as the airplane doors opened, we felt a wave of dry hot air invade the interior… Just a preview to what I could expect the next few days, with a thermometer over 47 degrees during the day! In General, my expectations for Niger were totally off target from what I had heard and read through my pre-travel research. It was much better than I had imagined. And here’s why… One of the Poorest Nation in the world… Really? I was on my guard when arriving in Niger since I had read a report of the United Nations ranking Niger 189th out […]
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WarTime Aleppo in Pictures – Captured with a Huawei P30 Pro
I usually add pictures of my travels directly in my photo studio or inside my articles about each destination. But my Photographic experience in Syria and Specially Aleppo was so breathtaking and troubling that it deserved to be published in a separate article of its own. After posting on my private facebook some of these pictures taken with the Leica Camera on my Pro 30 Pro, the reception was so impressive from public and private messages that I decided to share them to the world. The photos in this article were all taken in May 2019 during my visit around Syria which is summarized in my article: 5 Days Traveling around SYRIA during War Times. Being one of the first traveler in the country since 2011, I wanted to express the situation that Syrians have endured through those difficult years. Extensive details have been provided […]
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5 Days Traveling around SYRIA during War Times
As some of you read this article, it is important to time-stamp the events at the time of writing. As fighting is still raging in some areas, the war is coming to an end and the situation is changing rapidly. With the government now in control of the country once again, I expect the situation to improve very quickly through the next 2 years, and people reading this article 2 years from now might get a very different experience on their trip. But Make no mistake, as I was visiting in mid-may 2019, the country was still at war and heavy fighting was going on in the Idlib region and around Aleppo where I stayed 2 nights… Was it worth the risk? I Beleive it did, and here’s why… I decided to come to Syria as I believed it was the right time to come […]
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