Travel Insurance is an essential and important part of travel expenses, yet some people will just ignore it thinking “problems only happen to others”. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Leaving on an international trip will require planning and traveling safely is crucial to keep a peace of mind in any event. I have always had travel insurance for pretty much 95% of all my 10+ years on the road, and do not regret it one minute! Most people are lost when dealing with insurance so I will clear things up in this article in details, covering essentially what you need to know to be prepared and see your options of insurance. In This Article…1 Why do I consider myself a good resource to talk about insurance?2 What exactly is travel insurance?3 Why exactly MUST you get yourself insurance?4 My Personal experience.5 How does the Excess (or Premium) work?6 What to Look For in a Good Travel insurance7 Adventure sports exceptions8 Important note about […]
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The Republic of Abkhazia: An Unrecognized Country That Has a Lot to Offer
Considered by many to be the most beautiful region of the Caucasus with its beautiful semi-tropical sunshine coast and some of the highest mountains in Europe, all packed in a tiny country, Abkhazia has had its share of drama in the past 20 years. No doubt that the beauty and strategic location of this land have played an important role in the long-lasting disputes with Georgia, which led to one of the bloodiest conflicts in the post-soviet area. Nowadays, the country still feels like it’s freshly out of war with destroyed houses everywhere, bullet holes still visible on building facades and very little rebuilt infrastructure. But its Natural beauty definitely compensates for the ruins left behind for the Visitor. In This Article…1 A bit of history2 Ruins and Luxury Cars3 How to get an Abkhazian Visa4 Wines of Abkhazia5 One Week Itinerary around Abkhazia6 My Opinion on Abkhazia7 Top 10 Things to do in Abkhazia8 Top 5 Restaurant in Abkhazia9 Top 5 Cafes in Abkhazia10 […]
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How to Choose the Best Gear and What to Pack for your Travels
Packing the perfect gear for traveling is such big subject with travelers that I had to bring up a post about my personal tips and tricks I learned while on the road all those years to reach all the countries in the world. The general consensus is that most people bring way too much than they really need… Most interrogations are always the same: What type of Luggage should you leave with? what size? Rolling suitcases vs backpack vs hybrid? Carry-on only or check-in luggage? What are the essential things to bring? In this article, I will go through all the options available in details to clear out any doubts you may have and get you ready for your next trip. In This Article…1 My Personal Evolution through the Years2 What types of luggage should you use?3 Size does matter – The 2 Dimension Rules.4 My Current Setup: Minimalism5 Should you bring a daypack?6 Traveling with expensive gear7 Toiletries8 Layering concept9 What Cloth do I bring?10 […]
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How to Choose Your Ideal Travel Destinations
You might have a travel list completely full of travel destinations and places to go, or you might be overwhelmed by the abundance of choice and struggle to make up your mind. In any case, there is a simple process I have developed over my 10+ years on the road to chose my next destinations. Some people frankly don’t plan enough and let themselves go with the flow, which is perfectly fine sometimes. But in my case, I spend a lot of time planning reading and I cannot recommend enough researching on candidate destinations and synchronizing with the best times to go to every part of the world. Doing your homework beforehand you will definitely thank yourself later by enjoying being at the right place at the right time! In This Article…1 How Much Time do you Have2 How Much Money do you Have3 Weather and Seasons Worldwide4 Local Events and Activities5 Planning for Each City6 What About your Next Trip?7 Share Pin to Pinterest […]
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How to Save Money For Your Travels
Questions about Saving Money to fund our travels is always a big one I get often. Actually, it can be divided into several topics such as how to fund a short trip, how to fund your life on the road for long-term travels or even how to fund sustainable traveling making money while you travel. I cover this in other articles but for now, I want to concentrate on how to save money to start traveling. This is always one of the first that comes to peoples mind and I am covering in this article all the necessary steps I could think of to help you get your finances straight and ready for your dream trip. One important thing to note is that you won’t need as much money as you think. Remember that traveling is about discovering new places and living new experiences, not about staying in every expensive 5-star resorts. Travelers like me have developed habits and strategies to travel on low budgets, […]
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Visiting Paros in Greece: One of My Favorite Island in the World
The title of this article was chosen carefully. I wrote “island” as the capital, Paraika, isn’t anything that special. And “one of my favorite”, because Bora Bora or Tuvalu would take the crown, as “nothing can be greater than paradise”. But as far as the whole island goes, this is very close to perfection! Too many travelers make the mistake to rent a place in Paraika and stay there their whole stay. The best option on Paros is to rent a vehicle at arrival (there are hundreds of companies and many will fish you down at disembarkation of your ferry) and stay at various locations on the way. This island is incredible! I could imagine myself staying here and build one of those little White and Blue house around Naousa and live happy forever. For me, Paros is the perfect example of the “white and blue” towns of the Cyclades, much more than on other islands like Syros, Mykonos or Naxos. The closest comparison I can […]
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Visiting Piraeus: Unfairly Eclipsed Under the Fame of Athens
Piraeus is like a Porsche standing next to an F1… It wouldn’t stand a chance! Athens is such a behemoth of a city that anything placed next to it would be eclipsed into the shade… and this is a shame because Piraeus would be a great city to spend a few days in when in Athens! Instead, it is considered a little neighborhood that very few tourists will make it to. Or in most cases, it is single arrival/departure port to the Greek Islands. I really enjoyed Piraeus, especially the area around Mikrolimano, this small marina packed with stylish cafes and restaurants overlooking the yachts in the marina. This port has a lot of history in itself when it was made the official port for the Athens fleet back 500 B.C. Just walking around the area you can see archeological searches being done in the middle of busy streets (see photo below). There’s a nice little beach south of Mikrolimano where you can enjoy a swim with […]
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Top Things to do in Nafplio, the Ancient Capital of Greece
Known as a best-kept secret by nearby Athenians coming on Weekends, Nafplio, which used to be the capital of Greece one point after the independence, is one heck of a beautiful city. It is such a strategic point that it has 3 fortresses stretched on hills around the area. The Palamidi fortress is the biggest and makes a nice hike going up a set of stairs all the way to the top, where there are stunning views down to Nafplio, the Argolic Golf and the other fortress, the Akronafplia Fortress. the town of Nafplio itself provides a very nice walk around its incredibly beautiful streets lined up with little Greek restaurants, with nice Balconies along Amalias street and Vasileos Konstantinou Street. I really enjoyed going around the Akronafplia Fortress, a nice walk of about 1km that passes by Arvanitia Beach, a little stretch of pebble beach with crystal blue waters, providing an excellent base for a quick swim on a hot afternoon. The walk continues around the Akronafplia Fortress […]
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How to Stop Dreaming, Get Set and Start Traveling!
We live in societies where television has converted the population in a massive audience to consume other people’s stories. Movies, TV Shows, Youtube channels and even internet consumption has created this effect of being a spectator. However, when it is about our own lives, we are the main actors and it is our own story that we are building every day. To my eyes, it is not an option to live life behind a screen through others people’s adventures. So consider this: If traveling really is a dream of yours, whatever might be stopping you at the moment, you must stop traveling through other’s stories and become the main actor of your own adventures, no matter what! What is stopping you from doing so right now could be obstacles that seem too hard to overcome for the time being, but the truth is I see very few obstacles that justify not traveling at all. Money is usually a big one for most people before they […]
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Visit Crete: 2 to 3 Days Itinerary in Chania
Ever since I came to Chania 15 years ago as a novice traveler, I’ve been bragging about it as my favorite city in Greece. So being here again after such a long time definitely brought excitement to rediscover it. Chania offers a different feeling of the typical islands of the Cyclades with their white and blue architecture. Chania has a Phoenician, Venetian and Ottoman background where many remnants are still visible today. But its history goes even further with traces that are harder to see, such as its Minoan roots that date over 3500 years. Some open-air Minoan Archaeological sites can be found in the center of the old town. The most scenic part is concentrated around the Venetian port, which ads an interesting taste of Ottoman occupation, especially with the mosque of Kioustsouk Hasan situated right on the port on the eastern side. For me, the Venetian port makes it the most pittoresque port of all Greece and one of my favorite of Europe! sitting […]
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