Sailing In Croatia: A comprehensive beginner’s guide
Everything you need to know if you are considering sailing in Croatia for your vacation. Info on where and when, the best route, what to pack, licenses, and more.
Everything you need to know if you are considering sailing in Croatia for your vacation. Info on where and when, the best route, what to pack, licenses, and more.
The history of Ortigia, Sicily is long and varied. Read here what to see on this little islet, the oldest part of Siracusa.
Krka National Park in Croatia has some of the prettiest waterfalls and lovely hikes. Read lots of tips here!
In this complete one-day itinerary, you can read about all the things to do in Figueres, Spain: not just the Dali Theater-Museum!
The island of Agistri in the Saronic Gulf is near Aegina, but its quieter and greener. Read all about it here, with lots of tips for visitors.
Considering booking Audley Travel to arrange your itinerary? Read this review of my experience with Audley on a tailor-made trip in Greece.
Considering a stay at Euphoria Retreat wellness resort in Mystras, Greece? Read this detailed review before you decide!
No matter how beautiful Dubrovnik is, the crowds can really ruin it for you. Here are some ways to escape the crowds in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Historic sites in Rome that any first-time visitor should see: from the ancient Romans to the Baroque and Renaissance.
Mardi Gras around the world has morphed into a range of different pre-Lenten celebrations. Read here about how different countries celebrate!
The climb up to San Giovanni Fortress a.k.a. Kotor Fortress is hard, but definitely worth it for the magnificent views!
Don’t go to Albania unprepared, like I did! Read these Albania travel tips, covering everything I wish I’d known before visiting Albania.
Úbeda and Baeza: two charming towns, one UNESCO site, highlighting some stellar Renaissance architecture mixed with other influences.
Cameo Island, Zakynthos, Greece: a beautiful rocky island with crystal-clear water, perfect for snorkeling and seeing the native turtles.
A gem of classical Greek architecture, the Acropolis is an absolute must-visit! Read these facts about the Acropolis in Athens before you go!
A review of a Celestyal Crystal cruise in the Greek islands: lots of info about the whole experience, plus advice to help you decide whether it’s for you!
To look at a Salvador Dalí painting is to wonder about the mind that painted it. A visit to the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Spain, gives visitors a chance to look into that mind. That doesn’t mean, though, that you will understand Dalí’s thinking any more than you did going in. I certainly didn’t. It’s called a…
Ostia Antica was an important ancient port city, supplying goods to Rome. Its extensive ruins are a perfect day trip from Rome.
For this collaborative post, I asked fellow travel bloggers about their idea of a trip of a lifetime: If a person who’s never traveled far from home asked you to name the one place they should visit on their one-and-only trip ever, what would you say? I got so many different answers! I’ll start with the…
I caught my first glimpse of Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences last year as we drove by on our way to see the old center of the city. It was astonishing: massive, futuristic architecture contrasted sharply with everything we had seen so far. Note: Updated in April 2023. Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links…
Baix Empordà, part of the province of Girona in Catalonia, is one of those hidden gems, to use the cliché, that no one seems to know about. Many tourists visit Girona, and many of them venture out to the Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres. Most, though, don’t stay long enough to explore the lovely stone villages…
We only had one day to spend in Girona. That, and the fact that we had three grumpy teens with us, meant that we had to choose what we saw very carefully.
As I mentioned in my post about the Dalí Theatre-Museum, we were stupid enough not to book tickets ahead of time, forcing us to wait in line in the center of Figueres, Spain. It was the middle of the day in August and, believe me, it was hot in Figueres. We waited about 45 minutes to get to…
It was a hot Sunday morning in August when I walked from the deserted Plaça d’Espanya into the visitor’s information office in downtown Alcoi, Spain. The lone woman at the counter seemed thrilled to have someone to talk to. All I wanted was a map, but she insisted on telling me, in detail, about everything…
Benidorm is one of those places everyone has an opinion about, and it usually isn’t good. When I asked my husband what he thought of the place, he described it as “an overgrown beach town with high buildings right up to the beach.” It was full, he said, with “loud Dutch and fat, pale, English…
I’ve never seen a hotel quite like Arolithos Traditional Cretan Village before. I only stayed there because I took the gamble that Hotwire offers, and I thought that I’d lost the gamble. I’m still not sure one way or the other. Disclosure: If you click and book a room using a link in this article,…
The town of Rethymnon on the north coast of Crete is a popular destination for visitors who want to venture away from their all-inclusive resorts for a bit of local color. The narrow streets of its old center wind between rows of narrow houses with balconies, often overflowing with flowers. Shops sell everything from made-in-China…
Just a week or so after visiting the Ter Apel cloister, a place of peace and contemplation, I arrived at The Holy Monastery of Arkadi in Crete, a similarly contemplative religious place. Arkadi is Eastern Orthodox, while Ter Apel was Catholic and then Protestant, yet it looked to me as if the monks in both places…
Knossos, the much-visited ruins of a Minoan palace on the Greek island of Crete, is not a UNESCO World Heritage site. However, it is on UNESCO’s tentative list, along with the four other Minoan palace ruins in Crete. Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you click on one of the links and make a…
There’s something special about the medieval churches in the Val d’Aran, Spain. All are quite small, stone-built in Romanesque style, and date from the 11th to the 15th century. Disclosure: I went to the Val d’Aran as part of a discounted package provided by Pyrenees Experience. I’ve already written about what to do in the Val…
Skiing in Spain? Yes! It’s possible in the Pyrenees in the Val d’Aran. Read here about the ski resort and other things to do there!
Our tour guide from Italian Days Food and Wine Tours was far too cheerful for such an early start. We had been picked up at seven in the morning—before sunrise in mid-January—and denied even a cup of coffee before leaving. Our hotel’s breakfast only started at seven, so we had run downstairs and grabbed a…