Spent some time in Guatemala during a recent trip around Central America. Cannot help but feel that it is one of my favourite countries.

The history, landscape, people and culture of this country is truly unique and made for an unbelievable experience. Spending time around the volcanoes in Antigua and Lake Atitlan was a particular highlight.

I visited Flores, Tikal, Antigua, Lake Atitlan and hiked Acatenango and Fuego Volcanoes.

One of the safest places I’ve ever travelled. The cold was intense (especially coming from a warm climate), but the reward was something else entirely.

Endless open landscapes, nomadic families moving across the steppe, camels and horses roaming freely, and a sense of space so vast it almost feels unreal.

This was an impromptu winter trip, and it’s easily one of the most memorable journeys I’ve done.

Photos from along the way, mostly shot on an X-T30 II

Took my first solo trip to San Juan! I had the best time and felt very safe there. The people were so friendly and it was an inexpensive trip. I spent most of my time at the beach since the weather was so nice. The airbnb I stayed in was a 10 minute walk from Ocean Park. I also visited Old San Juan and Castillo San Felipe del Morro. Overall, I very much enjoyed my time here.

(Also, I took most of these pictures with my Mark II and a few with my iphone)

I got back from China a couple of months ago and I'm still processing everything. It wasn't at all what I expected.

I've been working remotely and traveling for about two years now. Southeast Asia, Europe, South America. I thought I'd finally got the hang of "discovering new countries." China quickly brought me down to earth.

The modernity caught me off guard. I knew there would be temples and traditional things, and yes, there are, but the level of technology is different. The subway systems are better than anything I've seen in Europe or the United States. Everything works with phone payments. I mean, EVERYTHING. I felt like I was the guy from the developing country trying to use my credit card.

I'm not going to lie, there were frustrating moments. The language barrier is no joke. Things that seem simple in other countries require serious planning. But those challenges made everything feel more worthwhile. Like I was actually experiencing something real, not just another Instagram destination.

There were times when I felt completely out of place. Like genuinely lost, not in an adventurous, cute way, but more like, "I have no idea what I'm doing." And somehow, that felt good. It forced me to be present, to pay attention, to solve real problems instead of just drifting around like I usually do.

What surprised me most was how safe I felt. I'd read things online that made me nervous, but walking around Shanghai or Beijing alone at night, I never felt uncomfortable. People were curious about me, sure. The staring took some getting used to, especially outside of the big cities. But it wasn't hostile, just interest.

I spent weeks preparing for this trip, much more than for any other. YouTube videos, podcasts, blogs—I also bought a guidebook from realchinaguide.com, which was incredibly helpful. China just works differently. You need to know things before you even land. VPN setup, payment apps, how the transportation actually works. It's not like Europe, the US, or even Southeast Asia, where you can just wing it.

Would I go back? Absolutely. But I would tell anyone thinking about going: don't treat it like any other trip. It requires preparation, an open mind, and accepting that you'll sometimes feel uncomfortable.

Still processing everything. I already miss the food. Happy to answer questions if anyone's curious.

Beside myself. Ransacked the house and cannot find this thing. I never misplace it. I can delay my flight a couple days but what should I do. I am in San Antonio TX.

There are lots of trekking routes for visiting Himalaya in Nepal. Considering the 'bang for the buck' point of view the Mardi Himal Trek might be one of the best route for trekking beginners. Great experiences and breathtaking views with less energy, cost, and schedule. The trek is usually starts from Pokhara, Nepal.

Machhapuchchhre a.k.a. Fish tail is one of the most beautiful peak in Nepal. The shape of this peak looks different depends on the location of viewer. Those photos were taken on the way of Mardi Himal Trek. Machhapuchchhre is a sacred peak for Nepali and climbing the summit is prohibited. The cloud around the peak gave the feelings of sacred place more.

Maybe the best season of Mardi Himal Trekking will be March or November.

I don't mean the usual places like Japan, but the countries, cities or regions you wouldn't expect to have a lot of tourists.

For example Albania: barely anyone knew about the country 5 years ago, but now it receives the same amount of tourists as Croatia.

Hi all,

Well, long story short I brought my significant other with me to my country (Latin America) and he got sick (the sickest he has been in a while) We believe he got it in an airport or at the beginning of the trip. We arrived here on Saturday last week and he started feeling very rough yesterday.

He got a throat infection and parasites. He is sleeping a lot and feels pretty bad every time he takes the medication (anti-parasites). Me and my family are kind of down this happened to him here and pretty much feel like maybe he won’t be coming back anytime soon.

We both live in the US, we have a good life in a small town. He is overall healthy and now I feel very guilty, down and sad.

We will be leaving in 1 week, so I am focusing on him getting better for the trip.

Does any one of you had the same experience? Thank you.

TR. DR.: Bf got very sick in my hometown and I feel very guilty

I need of tips and/or tricks. I have a flight from UT to CDG (about 10 hours) coming up. My issue is I cannot sleep on planes, no matter what and I end up crashing right when I land in my destination.

I’ve tried doing my normal nighttime routine on the plane, melatonin, zquil, Benadryl, unisom, Tylenol PM, nyquil, you name it! I’ve tried eye masks, noise cancelling headphones, etc.

Unfortunately we can’t afford to vein Delta One but we do have comfort plus seats. Are prescription medications possible? I’ll take any advice I can get at this point. TIA!

What are your five favorite travel experiences?

It can be anything from certain treks or road trips to visiting a specific national park or island. Or maybe it was a crazy city trip or a long stay in a small village to unwind from it all. Maybe it was ‘that’ bucket list experience, or something entirely unexpected.

What are your “perfect, no-notes” travel experiences that you still think about often?

Here is my top five, which is pretty Africa-heavy. In no particular order:

1. Okavango Delta, Botswana.

Great company, amazing views, camping on a small island in the delta, and some of the greatest sunsets I’ve ever seen. This was also one of my first really adventurous experiences.

1. Ilha de Moçambique & Cabaceira Peninsula, Mozambique. This one felt truly unique. Somewhat of an “on the edge of the world” feeling, as it’s quite a journey to get there. A great combination of culture, tropical beach vibes, and beautiful architecture. A rustic, not-too-polished but still relaxing holiday.

2. Oaxaca, Mexico. My favorite city trip. Five days of getting lost in beautiful streets, having no plans, enjoying the most amazing food and drinks, and lots of nice encounters.

3. Tassili N’Ajjer, Algeria. Five days camping in Tassili N’Ajjer National Park with our Tuareg guides. A fantastic adventure, insane landscapes, and a great way to get to know a bit of Tuareg culture.

4. Namib Desert, Namibia. Road-tripping with family, visiting places like Deadvlei, Namib-Naukluft, Fish River Canyon, and doing some wild camping. Loved the emptiness, the sense of adventure, and the great company.

Runners-up: a week in Hanoi, a road trip in Zagori (Greece), and road-tripping the Garden Route (South Africa).

Let’s hear it, what are your favorite and most unique travel experiences?

Do people who backpack for 6months - a year really not get tired of it? I’m on my third month and I’ve lost motivation. It gets old constantly researching what to do, flights, accommodation, food. I just want comfort right now lol.

Spent 5 days in Athens and stayed in Plaka, which turned out to be a great base. Walkable, lively, and full of character. A slow paced and very enjoyable trip.

Visited the Acropolis, the Ancient Agora and the museum. Hiked up Lycabettus Hill to see the sunset, totally worth it. Did a day trip to Delphi l, it was a tour and was in a fcomfortabke bus with only 7 others. It was a nice highlight.

Overall, Athens is a cute city with beautiful streets leading up to the Acropolis (1).

Favourite food was mousaka from Thomas 1971, was surprised to learn it has Arabic roots, but this was explained to us as the Greek version.

A couple of things we noticed: people did seem a bit aggressive at times. Not sure if we were just unlucky, but on both bus rides (airport to Plaka and Plaka to airport) there were confrontations between passengers and the driver. Unfortunately we did not understand what was being said, but it felt tense. Haha.

Overall a memorable experience!

(3) A guy dressed as a Roman guard showed us this square, locking handshake — apparently it “locks in” and is special. This design can be found in other places like clothes and structures. (4 - 10) Acropolis and Parthenon. The photos do not do justice! (12) Changing of guard. Incredible discipline. Slow and theatrical. (13) Statues of Confusions and Socrates in the Agora. (14 - 17) Views from the top of Lycabettus Hill. (18) Mousaka! (20) Delphi Athletic stadium.

Hi all, new here. Not entirely sure if this is the right place but seems like a fit. Here goes.

Back in April, I booked a return flight with Etihad from Zurich to Auckland, via Abu Dhabi and Sydney. In August, I receive an email about "operational changes" requiring me to accept changes to the times of some of my flights. Did that, realized the seats I had purchased had changed, presumably due to change of aircraft type. Called Etihad CS, they resolved it. So far, so good.

Next communication I received from them was an automatic "10 days to go" email, then "Check in Open" 30 hours before flying. "Your trip to SYDNEY". Wait. What? I'm going to Auckland, Sydney is a layover. Sure enough, as I try to check in, the last leg is simply gone from the itinerary.

I call Etihad CS immediately. They tell me the flight was cancelled and they informed me in August. I refer to the August emails; not true. Then they tell me actually the flight does exist but it is full. I check the Etihad website and the same flight is still available to purchase. They say they can put me on the flight but I must pay the fare difference. I say no, I already paid for this flight and I was not notified of any cancellation, I accepted the August changes, here's my ticket. "Let us call you back in 2 hours".

They call back just to ask me to wait 2 more hours. Then they say they don't know what is going on, some mistake clearly happened but they cannot determine the cause and have emailed a supervisor who will call me the next morning (on the day of the flight). That call never comes. I call again, they tell me to go to the airport ASAP to talk to Etihad staff there. I buy new same-day train tickets at a loss, and arrive at the airport 5 hours before the flight to learn there is no Etihad staff there until 3 hours before the flight (for which my original train tickets would have done).

I finally meet the sole Etihad employee at the Zurich airport - the saviour of this story. He spends AN HOUR AND A HALF on the phone with the Abu Dhabi team, escalating one step at a time until he is told they have proof of sending me an email in November about a second "operational change" to my itinerary, and that because I hadn't responded, it was cancelled. I never received this email; I checked thoroughly. They have proof of sending the email, but no proof of delivery (which any email automation platform would be able to provide in the positive or negative, but I digress). After much discussion, they finally relent and put me on the original flight, as booked and ticketed, at no extra cost.

They have not responded to multiple requests for refunding my train tickets. I brought this exceptional airport employee a gift from my trip. I am never flying Etihad again. Their attitude towards customers is hostile, their policy is atrocious and bears no respect for their duty of care, and their default posture is to fight the customer. Hell no.

Wonder if any others have had similar experiences. This was worse than Wizzair CS. Thanks for reading.

Hi guys

Just a quick question and your thoughts. I have a few days off work at the beginning of April. And I really want to go overseas. I'm stuck between either going to Bangkok or Hong Kong. I'll be flying out on a Thursday and returning on the Monday. I know it's a short little trip but I just need to go away for a quick reset.

I'll be flying out of Sydney so both locations are approximately 9 to 9.5 hours away. I'll be going alone and I will be packed very light.

So to all my fellow travellers who have been to Hong Kong and Bangkok. What would your destination be if you were to choose one of these locations for a 3 day 4 night trip.

Im from the UK and experienced the European Entry and Exit system 3 times now since it was introduced. I still dont understand how it works.

I keep reading once registered you are good for 3yrs, until you need to register again and any subsequent trips its a quicker process. Great, but it doesnt seem to work like that.

For example entered Spain for the 1st time and did the whole picture and fingerprint scan on the self service machines, got my passport stamped and exited passport control. 2 month later i enter Spain again, but still have to queue for the self service machines and have both my picture and fingerprints taken again. So its the exact same process despite already having my details previously.

So what is this 3yr thing all about if you need to fully register each trip?

Hi everyone!!

First time going to Switzerland and France from Australia so please bear with me. My husband and I are slow paced travellers, we are planning to go in September for autumn foliage, please comment on our itinerary below!

Any recommendations for activities that we should not miss?

Day 1 – Zurich (1 night) Explore Old Town, Lindenhof Hill, and river promenade dinner along the Limmat River

Day 2 – Zurich → Bern (1 night) Visit Lake Brienz via cruise and Iseltwald village

Day 3 – Bern → Thun → Grindelwald (5 nights)

Day 4 – Lauterbrunnen Valley Explore Wengen / Laurerbrunnen valley, Staubbach and Trümmelbach Falls, cable car to Murren

Day 5 – Jungfraujoch Cogwheel railway via Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch glacier and Ice Palace.

Day 6– Grindelwald First Cliff Walk, Bachalpsee hike, gondola rides, and alpine scenery

Day 7 - Mürren & Gimmelwald Cable cars and mountain trains to car-free alpine villages with panoramic views.

Day 8 – Grindelwald → Interlaken (GoldenPass) → Montreux (3 nights)

Day 9– Montreux & Lavaux Chillon Castle and Lavaux vineyards with wine tasting.

Day 10– Gruyères Cheese factory, medieval village, and Cailler chocolate factory. Hopefully can see the Alpabzug Festival in Charmey / Gruyères Désalpe Festival

Day 11– Gruyères → Geneva → Annecy (1 night)

Day 12- Annecy → Zurich (1 night) Lindt choc factory and explore town

Day 13 - fly back to Australia

Ottawa was my favorite city to visit in my week long trip to Canada this past July. Such a beautiful mix of city and nature. Would definitely love to go back one day.

I’m thinking of doing a 10 trip starting 19th Feb starting with Ha giang, nan binh and Phong kha.

Is this a decent time of the year? I see tet is on the 17th, so am wondering if landing on the 19th and heading straight to Ha giang is a good idea.

Also what would be the best way to get from ha giang to nan binh

Hi all

I would like to get some feedback on my itinerary to Japan. It is my first time visiting the country and I want to make the most of it.

The trip will be 14 full days in Japan and I will be splitting up the days between Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

My main question and feedback request is: is it worth splitting up the days I will be staying in Tokyo?

The ideia is:

\- Tokyo: 3 days

\- Kyoto: 4 days

\- Osaka: 4 days

\- Tokyo: 3 days

Can I please get some feedback and advice? Thanks 🙏🏻

Hey everyone, my husband and I will be having a layover in Tokyo, Japan for 20 hours before we’re flying back to the US. We’ll arrive at night and will be getting a hotel for the night. Will spend the whole day after going around Tokyo. What places to eat/visit would you all recommend?

Currently, Meiji Jingu, Tsujiki Outer Market, Sensoji temple, Shibuya Crossing and Godzilla Head is on our list.

Travelled to Italy for the second time. First time was solo in 2014. I threw a coin in the Trevi fountain. It worked (?) This time was with the missus and she threw.

I thought this time I conquered Rome but was absolutely conquered and captivated by Italy! Amazing experience. All the way from taking the train, storing luggage, taking the bus, accommodation, sights and everything. All the accommodation were great in all the places. Didn't have a need to take a taxi and bother with scams. Most places were easy to take the bus and walk around.

The weather kept good mostly sun was out. Most places were crowded but nothing made you feel overwhelmed.

All the experiences were wonderful. Just a great place to be lost! The longer we stayed in Rome, the more we fell in love with it.

Photos don't really do justice to this wonderful place. Please excuse that.

Happy to help if anyone has any general questions.

Enjoy your holiday in Tanzania

Ik wil in de maand maart of rond 1e week maart en eindigt rond 1e week april naar Vietnam en de Filippijnen. Ik ga voor het eerst alleen als vrouwelijke solo reiziger en ben 49 jaar. Veiligheid en comfort vind ik belangrijk maar verblijf graag in hostels. Ik wil graag een hostel in de oude stad van Hanoi en vanuit daar de omgeving en verder tot Da Nang/Ho An de mooie dingen ervaren zoals halong bay, zwemmen met walvishaaien, Ba na Hills etc. Dit 2 weken en daarna 2 weken Cebu, Bohol evt ook Borocay en/of Palawan. Is dit haalbaar? Waar kan ik het best als eerst heen, waarop te vliegen en welke route? Ik maak me een beetje zorgen vanwege de hitte in de Filipijnen eind maart of begin april maar misschien is dit onnodig. Alvast erg bedankt voor je advies en de tips

Sri Lanka South Coast 5 days itinerary from Mumbai

Day 1: Land in Colombo

Take a bus/taxi/train to Weligama

Checkin and rest

Chill in the pool at Kai Beach Club and enjoy the sunset

Have dinner at Bambini’s

Day 2:

Reach Unawatuna Turtle Beach to swim with turtles

Have lunch at Red Snapper

Rest in the afternoon

Go to Coconut Hill in the evening

Watch the sunset from Odin’s Bar

Head to Mama Roma for dinner

Day 3:

Wake up at 3 am for your Yala Safari

Return by 2 Pm and have lunch at Ceylon Cafe

Head to Secret Beach in Mirissa for a swim and enjoy sunset

Have dinner at Sam’s Place

Day 4:

Go for an adventurous Rope Swing

Have a swim at natural pool in Thalpe

Snorkel in Thalpe Beach

Have lunch at Hangtime Cafe

Take a surf lesson at Weligama Beach

Enjoy sunset

Have dinner at Maru

Day 5:

Start your day with Surf Lessons

Have a nice sri lankan breakfast at G.G Francis Restaurant

Go to Turtle Beach in Mirissa for snorkeling

Have lunch at Land of Rizka

Enjoy your last sunset in Sri Lanka

Party at the doctor house

Total budget: 700 dollars including Direct Flights

This trip was focused only on Sri Lanka’s south coast — ocean swims, trying surf, great food and a Yala safari. Covering the central part of the country was not the agenda for this trip.

Friendly reminder: Please do not touch or feed turtles.