Looking for a cute place to stay in Goa? Our local Goa expert, Jules, recently stayed at the very cool Olaulim Backyards in North Goa. Here’s what to expect if you want to stay. 

And in case you missed it, don’t forget to read about the first and second staycation at the very unique and cute Wigwam and Casa Jaali.

Jules has started this Staycation Series to bring some love to businesses around the state. She’ll be taking some staycations in both North and South Goa to highlight the cool, quirky, and sometimes slightly secret options Goa is lucky to have.

I am attempting to keep the beauty and excitement of travel alive whilst still realising the danger of it during the Covid-19 Pandemic. There are different rules all over the world to do with travel restrictions and all countries and places should be checked before you decide to travel, if you do. India has banned all International flights since March 2020 which is a big (and unfortunately necessary) blow for a lot of businesses who depend on foreign tourism.

Here in Goa, life is slowly trying to get back to ‘normal’ as businesses and people try to make the most of the monsoon season and reach out to the main crowd of domestic tourists. I want to help people realise the importance of supporting your local communities, businesses, restaurants, hotels, guesthouses and boutiques during this difficult time. This doesn’t mean you need to travel far and wide to find them, they could be on your doorstep, down the road or a little drive away.

** Please note that all staycations should be taken responsibly. Wear your mask, sanitise your hands, and don’t go if you are feeling unwell.

Checking into Olaulim Backyards: A Jungle Paradise

Olaulim Backyards, a jungle paradise, has been up and running for over 10 years now. It is run by the most lovely couple, Pirkko from Finland and Savio from Goa. Their passion for the place, the sleepy village of Olaulim and their crazy animals (more on this later) is apparent as soon as you step on to the property. It literally is a hidden gem in North Goa with no signboard outside just a strange ‘Beware’ sign on the gate that will help you know you have arrived at your destination. 

Rachel loved this place and it was one of the first places she wrote about when starting her blog. Both Savio and Pirkko knew Rachel and Ben very well, even giving them their famous cat, Kitkat!

Olaulim, is in what I would like to call the ‘country side’ of Goa. It’s on the opposite side of the highway to the beach and is a very green and tranquil village with not much going on at all. There are no nightclubs, no supermarkets, no late night bars and very few restaurants. This part of Goa is not meant for the typical party Goa tourist but for the tourist or resident who loves nature, enjoys peace and quiet and is in need of actual R&R. Olaulim Backyards is the perfect place for this. With only 5 rooms available on the very large property, they have chosen quality over quantity. Each room is different and is named after a different type of bird species which can be spotted on their property if you are lucky. All rooms are large wooden huts with outdoor bathrooms and the option of doubles, triples or quadruples. Two rooms are located at the same level as the bar and dining area and 3 are located a bit further up at the back of the property up some steep steps. Myself and my friend Nishtha, stayed in one of these which had a beautiful view of the glorious green jungle below. Don’t expect a 5 star luxury stay, expect nature and comfort and homely feels. Rooms don’t have air conditioning, but the fan was very sufficient when I stayed in the hot month of April. 

It is open throughout the year usually with a few weeks or a month of closure for maintenance or a break. Choosing to stay during monsoon amongst the non-stop rains and luscious green grass would most definitely be amazing! 

Gloriously Green Balcony

When you first enter the property you will see their very beautiful and very blue swimming pool neatly placed under the palms and between their dining area, chill area and the backwater in front of their property. You will then also realise why they have a sign telling you to ‘Beware Dog/Donkey’ as their resident Donkey, Mantra, is likely to be grazing by the bar or taking a little drink from the pool. You genuinely should be a little bit aware of the donkey as he has been known to be interested in humans and want to give them a little love bite. They also have a beautiful shiny brown horse, a goat and 4 or 5 dogs. 

Nishtha and Mantra.

Behind the pool is the backwaters which separates Olaulim Backyards from the fields and neighbours across the way. When sitting in the pool the silence of the place is pretty unbelievable especially when you live on the other side of the highway in the thick of it, like me! 

Food

Breakfast is included in your room rate and is served in the cute dining area by the pool. They have communal benches where everyone can mingle and serve themselves some of the homegrown fruit, homemade juices and delicious eggs they have to offer. The pineapple, jamun, melon, papaya, guava and mangos are all grown on the property and the freshly made cashew fruit and bimbli juice I tasted, were delicious. 

Breakfast Is Served

They have a honesty bar just near the pool which is stocked with beer, wine and most spirits. You can write down what you drank and pay for it later. If there is a specific drink you want then you can let them know and they will source it for you. In the months of April and May they may have some delicious Urrak which is served with Limca, salt and chilli. A delicacy in Goa! 

Taverna Hama Hama

For lunch and dinner they have a new addition which is the Backyard Cafe by Nikita. This is located just between the main entrance of Olaulim Backyards and the little gate you use to enter. I had the most delicious iced coffee and a very refreshing kokum spritzer. The mushroom burger was amazing and the specials – falafel with pesto hummus – change weekly. The cafe is for anyone and not just guests at Olaulim Backyards so you will be likely to see lots of residents who live locally popping by. 

Backyard Cafe By Nikita

Activities 

There are lots of options for cool activities here. Things you don’t usually get to do living or staying in Goa. 

Kayaking 

I think the most exciting activity is the kayaking which can be done on the backwaters behind the property. It is a large body of water which goes around the property and into a nice big open space. There are a few fishermen with fishing nets so these need to be avoided but the views and the peace and quiet are amazing. You can kayak and see both sunrise and sunset which are the best times to beat the heat. For sunrise we were out in the kayak by 6:30am ready to see the big pink ball of fire in the sky. It is definitely the most beautiful and satisfying way to start the day, though you may need a little nap afterwards like me. They also have a rowing boat and a surfboard that can be used as a paddle board. 

Ready For A Sunrise Kayak

Swimming 

You can swim both in the pool and the lake. I would say lake swimming is for adventurous people unlike myself who is terrified if anything touches my leg. However, for others it may be the refreshing dip you have been waiting for. My sunrise kayak session meant the water in the lake was hot, like really hot, and could have easily been a jacuzzi if bubbles were added! The pool was the cool off that was most definitely needed in the heat of April.

Sunset By The Pool

Bike Rental 

They have quite a few bicycles available for guests to take out and explore the local village. It is definitely worth taking one out and riding to the neighbouring villages of Aldona and Nachinola to see their local churches, beautiful houses and sleepy streets. 

Village Walk 

Pirkko, who honestly knows everything about all the plants, flowers and area surrounding Olaulim Backyards, if available can take you on a very cute walk around the village and neighbouring houses. Along the way there are beautiful flowers, lots of vegetables being harvested and dried out in the sun (see chillies below) and the views and experience of proper Goan village life. All the neighbours know Pirkko and Savio and it is very obvious they are all very fond of them and what they done with Olaulim Backyards. 

Village Chillies

Chill and Chat

Take some time to chill. Take a seat on the swing, the sunbeds or the lounging chairs and immerse yourself in the peace and quiet. Read a book, play some of the board games and if you feel in the mood for it, meet the other guests. With only 5 rooms, this place can be as intimate or secluded as you want it to be. The communal bar and dining area is perfect for getting to know the stories of other guests and the very interesting story of Pirkko and Savio and their journey to where they are now. I am still amazed and very jealous to know, Pirkko speaks 10 languages and Savio speaks 5! 

The Chill Area

How to Book 

You won’t find Olaulim Backyards on any third party sites and so the best place to book is directly through their website which can be found here. 

Also check out their instagram @olaulimbackyards which has more pictures and updates of their jungle life! 

Tips

• Take extra mosquito spray and be prepared for the annoying creatures to come out at dusk and dawn – best to keep your room doors shut when possible.
• Don’t stay here if you are scared of nature and wildlife. You don’t have to be a huge fan, I am a born and bred city girl, but you need to be accepting of frogs in the bathroom, an occasional spider and a few noises out in the wild at night time. 
• Speak to Savio and Pirkko about their lives, about the village, their kids and about the future of Goa. They really make the homestay feel like home! 
• Get up for sunrise! It is difficult but it is so so rewarding!

A Rest After A Sunrise Kayak

The post A Cool Staycation at Olaulim Backyards appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

Welcome to our very first interview with Silvia of Heart My Backpack! Each month we’re highlighting different female travelers who have really made the world their oyster. Rachel always had a fearless way of traveling, and we want to celebrate other women who share her same spirit.

When we began brainstorming female travelers to interview, one of the first ones we knew we had to reach out to was Silvia Lawrence. While she’s currently in her fourth year of travel blogging full time and calls a small, charming town of Mosjøen, Norway home, she’s spent her life visiting around 80 to 90 countries.

Born a Traveler

Silvia has been traveling so long, her first trip was probably as an infant when her Norwegian mother took her from the US to visit family back home. This was followed by many summer road trips to Europe with family throughout her childhood and teens.

“My parents love to travel and always prioritized it. It helped that they were teachers so had summers off, and they would pretty much spend all their money on trips abroad with us when I was growing up. So travel has really always been a part of my life and I can’t imagine living without it.”

Her first trip alone was as an exchange student in Germany during her senior year where she spent many weekends on the train to see different cities and remembered loving that sense of freedom, like she could just stay aboard and see the entire world.

It was only natural that after finishing college, she’d jet off to another destination, this time to teach English in Japan on the tiny island of Tanegashima. While her family had lived outside of Kobe when she was a child, Tanegashima was brand new, and she spent two years experiencing the highs and lows of Japanese island life.

After realizing Japan would never quite feel like home (even today that relationship is best described as complicated), Silvia took all the money she’d managed to save and spent the next four years backpacking, hitchhiking, and Couchsurfing around Asia and the Middle East while basing herself in Chiang Mai, Thailand and freelancing.

Her first trip was four months around Central Asia and China, inspired by a desire to see the Silk Road in the present day after reading about it so much growing up.

The Start of Heart My Backpack

This was soon followed by a solo backpacking trip around Iran, Armenia, and Georgia. Right before this trip is when Heart My Backpack was born.

In the five years since she wrote that first post, her blog has become filled with more articles that vary between practical advice and emotionally vulnerable musings, a combination that has garnered her a dedicated following.

She’s since left Asia, traveling overland, to settle down in Norway. While she spent her first year working in a supermarket, she soon quit to blog full-time.

Now that she’s moved to Northern Norway, she travels internationally once a month while also exploring her new hometown.

When she thinks back to those weekend train trips as a student in Germany, she muses, “The difference now is that I actually do have that freedom I wanted then – I don’t have a host family to get home to, or school to go back to on Monday morning.

“Come to think of it, it was that first taste of freedom that led me to work for myself, first as a freelance writer and now as a blogger. I always resisted being tied down to a 9-5, and I’m incredibly grateful that I found a way to support myself on my own time.”

Today

Of course, this independence doesn’t mean life is always happy nor is it easy. After deciding to move north to settle in Mosjøen and dealing with a former close friend bullying her self-confidence into the ground, Silvia’s boyfriend of five years broke up with her while she was on a trip back to Japan (further complicating her relationship with the country).

And, as many of you might already know, Silvia and Rachel were good friends who talked frequently online before meeting in Finland and then planning their epic two-week adventure around Panama.

Finding out about her passing while in the middle of a brand campaign in Salt Lake City was nothing short of devastating. Suddenly, settling in a brand new town far away from any of her close friends or family made living the dream feel more like a nightmare.

“Losing loved ones while far from home is really tough, and sometimes makes me second guess this life I’ve made for myself so far away from a lot of the people I care about. But I have to remind myself that even if we’re physically far apart, we’re still emotionally close.”

However, this same travel spirit that has taken her to nearly a hundred countries has been able to save her even in her darker days (literally and figuratively, Norway experiences some pretty dark winters!).

“I’ve learned to open up to new people who are near me, whether that’s confiding in my newer friends here in Norway or even talking with other travelers while on the road. It’s kind of crazy to think how many fellow travelers have helped me through difficult times, and I’ll probably never see them again. But that’s one of the things I love most about travel – somehow it’s often easier to connect with strangers on the road than my neighbors back home.”

Quick Takes with Silvia

On places that feel like home…

My family lived in Nepal for a while when I was five years old, and then I studied abroad there in college. I remember getting to Kathmandu and it really felt like I was returning home, everything was so familiar and comfortable – especially the smells!

On where she’d return in a heartbeat…

The Falkland Islands! I can’t get enough of penguins, plus it’s such a long journey there from Norway I’d be very happy to be able to get there in a heartbeat instead of 30+ hours.

On something from home she always craves…

Goldfish crackers! And Cheerios, because apparently I have the palate of a three-year-old.

On a travel product she swears by…

I always, always travel with an eye mask and ear plugs, even if it’s just a short bus or train journey. It sounds so simple but makes sleeping so much easier. Oh and I just tried my friend, Sam’s weighted eye mask and now I really want one!

On the craziest things she’s done abroad…

I had a few wild hitchhiking experiences that now when I think back to them I wonder if I could ever let my kids travel on their own.

Like once two of my friends and I hitchhiked in a truck from Khorog to Dushanbe in Tajikistan. The road took us along the border to Afghanistan, which felt kind of surreal, and somehow we hadn’t quite realized how long of a drive it was when we first got in that truck. It took us 25 hours to get there!

This included an initial stop for beers (exactly what you need at the start of a long journey with no public restrooms in sight), dinner (even though we had already eaten), another stop for snacks (a burlap sack of delicious pears and a plastic bag full of steaming mutton intestines), and then a mysterious stop where our driver and his friend disappeared into a house for a while.

They then reemerged, running at full speed, hopped in the truck, and we watched out the window as what seemed to be the entire village ran after us.

Sometimes I think back to that scene and hope that we weren’t somehow accomplices in a terrible crime.

On her favorite memories abroad…

The trip I find myself thinking back to the most these days is the two weeks Rachel and I spent in Panama together.

We had talked for years about planning a trip somewhere together, and now I’m so incredibly grateful that we were able to make that happen. My favorite part was the three days we spent on a catamaran sailing through San Blas. San Blas is so incredibly beautiful and it was the perfect escape before a hectic two weeks traveling through Panama together.

Thanks so much to Silvia for sharing your story! Be sure to follow her adventures on Heart My Backpack and on Instagram and Facebook.

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The post From Backpacking in Central Asia to Putting Down Roots in Norway: An Interview with Silvia of Heart My Backpack appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

I can’t believe I’ve been traveling for ten whole years now! While these days traveling is my full-time job, I traveled a lot on my own for a long time, even before starting Hippie in Heels. Throughout the years and numerous countries, not to mention living in Goa for half of this time, I’ve picked up a lot of travel hacks.

These are both practical things (like little ways to save money) to big lessons learned from experience, and I wanted to share them with you! So below are my favorite travel hacks after a decade of wandering the world.

My 10 Favorite Travel Hacks After 10 Years

Mykonos in 2009

2. Packing cubes are very much worth the hype

Why did it take me so long to get them!? I can’t imagine just putting my things in my luggage loose, without packing cubes, anymore. This keeps thing so orgnaized and as I get older I somehow am getting even more OCD. I have three sets because I wanted all sorts of size options.

Check out some packing cube options below:

Uganda, 2010

3. Stay local as much as possible.

I was always a fan of Airbnb, but the past two years, I look at the housing options there before I even look at hotels. From a $30 apartment in Tulum to a $200 MANSION in Merida, I’ve been loving staying in people’s homes. I love to cook breakfast, make my own coffee, and it has saved me so much money on accomodation. I’ve used it in India, England, Mexico, Ireland, and 10 other countries so far and not had one issue. I tend to go for whole houses, not rooms or apartments and actually have a guide coming out soon with tips on using Airbnb. This is a way to get MUCH more into the real life of the place you stay and will honestly change the way you travel. You’ll never go back to booking random hotels.

Get $40 off with Airbnb here if you’re a new user

Some of my Airbnb posts:

• 5 Reasons to Choose Airbnb
• Airbnb in Merida, Mexico
• Cutest Luxury & Budget Airbnbs in Goa

Taj Mahal, 2012

4. Get an incredible travel credit card

I’m about to turn 29 and just got my first real credit card! I went with the Chase Sapphire Reserve. The main reason I decided to get one was that this particular card covers you up to 75,000 in car rental insurance. This means you can decline it at the rental counter no matter how hard they try to upsell you. The other reason is that I want to finally get into points and they give you 3x points on travel spends. The third and coolest reason I got this card, is it gives you a Priority Pass (for you and a guest). This pass allows you into a lounge in nearly every airport in the world – and the airports that don’t have a lounge for you often have a restaurant you can dine with $30 or $40 credit. I actually added Ben to my account and then he can rent a car under his credit card (under my account) and use the car rental insurance, too. No more paying for a second driver!

Koh Samui, 2013

5. Planning your own travel itinerary is usually better than going on group tours, but not always.

90% of the time, I’m down to plan my own itinerary and avoid the cost of tours. When I plan it myself, I really research deeply (I’m talking reading dozens of posts for each city I’ll be in, checking IG hashtags, and Pinterest, too). I cater the trip to what I like in terms of food, sight-seeing, adventures, shopping, and hotels. While I prefer this, there are times a tour can really be helpful and mostly that is in India. I have done some really cool tours here in rural areas and learned SO much in just a week on a tour about India that I didn’t living here as an expat or traveling as a tourist. I think that doing a tour is a great way to go even deeper into a place you are traveling – you just have to pick the right one. If you are going somewhere that stresses you out, it’s best to look into a tour so you can relax and enjoy the trip. My biggest tip here is that before you go on a trip, PLAN IT. I used to wing it, and have traveled all over Europe and even India winging it. The perfect example of why NOT to do this is my Rajasthan trip. When I compare visiting there as a backpacker winging it 6 years ago to planning ahead when I went this Fall, it’s like a completely new place – I saw so much more and loved every second without the stress since it was planned ahead.

Check out some of my itinerary & planning posts:

• How to plan a trip from scratch
• Two Weeks in Rajasthan
• One Week in Goa
• Why You Should Add an “ME” Day to Your Itinerary

Bandung, 2014

6. Sometimes renting a car is the best and cheapest option.

Ben and I rent cars basically everywhere we go. We figure, if we can drive in India, we can drive anywhere. Like I said above, I now have a credit card with insurance which is huge in keeping the rental car cost down. You can rent for under $10 a day most places if you decline all the insurance. It’s not just my credit card, but loads of them offer this – call yours and see if they do! I look on rentalcars.com when I start searching and don’t have a favorite company: I use Hertz, Sixt, Europcar and so far haven’t had any issues. I always take photos and video of the car when I pick it up and we are careful to clean it well before returning it. In places like England, for example, we spend so much less having our own car than if we took trains, taxis, and the underground everywhere we went. It saves us hundreds of bucks on nearly every trip.

Istanbul, 2015

7. It’s better to buy high-quality items than to just buy cheap and throw away.

My H&M and Forever 21 days are pretty behind me – and I don’t really buy clothing that is really “trendy”. I shop thinking about travel and where I could wear things. I also buy a LOT less although spend about the same amount. Quality over quantity is what I go by and if that means paying $200 for a leather jacket I’ll wear for 8 years (so far!) or a $100 for a pair of linen travel pants I’ll where on every single trip I take, it’s worth it! I did break that while i was in the UK: I was so cold and bought like 5 sweaters at H&M and Zara which I already regret doing! I should have bought one or two awesome ones instead. When you travel, you should feel good in what you wear and wear “real life” items, not “traveling” pieces that you wouldn’t wear at home. If you dress “normal”, you’ll feel much more intune with the place you visit. Here is a post on where I like to shop.

Some of my favorite quality brands:

• Studio TIA
• FARA
• TopShop Jamie Jeans
• Melissa Odabash
• Free People
• L*Space
• Uggs

Finland, 2016

8. You can start small in trying to be more eco-friendly as a traveler

You might not be able to go from not thinking about your effect on the environment to being a eco-warrior overnight but you can start just doing small things to help as a traveler. Even just not using straws or using reef-friendly sunscreen when you go snorkeling is helpful. This year, I have thought a lot more about sustainable travel and wish I would have been thinking this way a lot sooner. Ben is helpful with this because he literally builds reefs and is very environmentally-friendly so I’m always learning. Alex in Wanderland has a great post on this from earth day. This isn’t really a “hack” but learning how to be more eco-friendly while you travel is something we should all keep in mind.

Morocco, 2017

9. If you want to go somewhere but aren’t sure where think about the experiences

Instead of thinking about how a place looks, what the beach is like, or where your friends are going, plan your trips based on the experiences you want. After 10 years, I look back and remember not checking Budapest and Prague off my bucket list but instead, I remember flying in a helicopter in Maui, rafting in the Nile, and dog sledding in Finland. I remember learning to surf in Bali and shopping my heart out in Morocco. I try to really choose the places I go based on the experiences I want to have there. Have you always wanted to surf in Hawaii? Have you wanted to take a baking class in Paris? Think about activities you want to do in your life and make a list of them…. then start checking them off rather than checking off a place.

Goa, 2018

10. It’s sometimes who you’re with and not the destination at all

My biggest tip is that you shouldn’t just travel for travel’s sake. As a blogger, I could literally be traveling NON-STOP all year to anywhere I wanted. But we only get this one life and as much as I love to travel, I love other things: my dogs, family, boyfriend, and my home. I am careful to not get travel burn-out where I stop appreciating the new places I go. I also try to balance having a normal home life. I would rather go to Florida (again) with my mom than go off on a solo trip to somewhere new because the first one is memories I’ll always cherish – it’s not always about where you go but who you choose to go with, or even who you choose to stay home with instead of bouncing off on another trip.

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The post 10 Travel Hacks from 10 Years of Travel appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

As part of my Ask Me Anything series, I answer common questions I get from readers. You can read other AMA posts here. In this article, I want to answer the question of how I decide on a place to take my next vacation. If you have wanderlust and want to book a trip, here are some things to think about before that will help you narrow down the destinations.

Readers will sometimes email me overwhelmed with their travel options, because don’t all of us travel-lovers want to go everywhere? It’s all on “our list”. They ask me how I decide where to take my next vacation hoping it will help them decide where to take theirs.

5 Ways to Decide on a Place for Vacation

There are things I consider when I choose my next vacation spot, so I’ll kind of share the thought process I go into when I’m choosing somewhere to visit with the 5 questions you will want to ask yourself.

1. Have I been before?

The first thing I’ll consider is if I am in the mood to go somewhere new or somewhere I have been before and like to return to. I love going back to India, Sri Lanka, London, and so many other places so I try to think if any of them are calling me back.

I know returning to places isn’t as exciting as going somewhere new – but they typically require way less planning and on repeat visits, you get to experience the place more in-depth. You’ll have already done all the touristy things and now you can do the cool things you missed, try new restaurants and bars, and really chill out like a vacation that doesn’t have a checklist of “things to do and see”.

If you want to go somewhere you haven’t been before, think about where friends have gone. Who has told you about a cool life-changing trip they had recently? You can get travel inspiration from Instagram and blogs.

You can also just spin a globe and see where you land! That is what I did in a way with India in 2012. I chose it 100% on a whim. I wanted to go somewhere I hadn’t been before that would provide a little culture shock. I thought, why not India?

2. What the weather like?

It’s important to think about if you want to go somewhere warm like surfing in Maui or you are interested in a cold vacation like playing with reindeer in Finland. Once you decide that, it will help you narrow things down a little bit. Additionally, you’ll have to think about what the season is at the place you want to go – maybe it’s rainy season and all the activities you have in mind aren’t going to be possible at that time.

3. What do I have the budget for?

Do you have the money for flights all the way across the world or just to a few states over? Do you need to take the train/bus rather than fly? Unfortunately, the budget is going to play a major factor. Yes, you can get to places like the Maldives on a budget – but do you want a budget trip to the Maldives or do you want to save it for a luxury honeymoon one day?

Often I will do a close trip – in India, I can do a two-week trip to another state I haven’t visited and spend a lot less than if I flew to Kuala Lumpur for the weekend. In Mexico, I recently did a getaway to Mexico City on a whim. I considered other places but wanted a “big city” break I could afford and it was the cheapest city nearby.

Try using the Skyscanner “anywhere” or Kiwi “anywhere” options with your airport as the departure and “anywhere” as the destination. It will give the results of the cheapest places you can fly to. See if any of them stand out to you.

4. Is it an adventurous trip or a chilled one?

For my bachelorette party, my bridesmaids were up for anything! We could have done an all-inclusive in Cancun and chilled or gone to Lake Tahoe for a relaxing lake vacation. I had to think not just about the destination but about what I wanted to do there. I didn’t want to SUP. I didn’t want to go clubbing or just lay by the pool. I decided I wanted to go to Universal Studios. There is so much to do all day at the parks, it’s sunny, there are bars and restaurants within the park and it makes for an easy trip.

Sometimes I want something really adventurous and want to experience a place I haven’t been. Recently, I wanted to go somewhere new with a friend. Neither of us had been to Central America, so we started there. Costa Rica seemed over-traveled. Honduras wasn’t safe. We went through each country to kind of see what we wanted to do. We decided on Panama because it has the city, the Pacific, the Carribean, whale watching, trekking, culture, pristine islands that hardly anyone travels to, new food we’d never tried, and beautiful boutique and eco-friendly hotels and B&Bs. It had a lot to offer and we could do a lot in two weeks.

If you want an adventurous tip, ask yourself what you are interested in: skiing, surfing, safaris, rafting? You can figure out what you want to do then google “the best places for ___”.

5. How much time do you have?

The last point brought us to this: do you have two weeks to go to Panama? If not, and you have one week, is it worth going all the way to just hit up two cities? Would you prefer instead to go to Costa Rica and do a lot in a smaller area?

Maybe you have just a long weekend and could think about flying to Mexico City for a weekend. You can often get flights there from the USA as cheap or cheaper than flights to Vegas, LA, and NYC. Try to think outside the box and make the most of the short time you have. There are international destinations that work for a long weekend. Alternatively, you can do to places in the USA you haven’t explored like New Orleans, Nashville, or St Augustine.

The post Ask Me Anything: How Do You Decide on a Place for Vacation? appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

I’ve been on a few safaris as a backpacker in India but hadn’t seen a tiger yet, so was stoked to get to visit Bandhavgarh Park – the park with the highest density of tigers in India. I wasn’t sure what to wear on safari, though! As a backpacker, I just threw on what was in my backpack but I’m not really rocking ali baba pants anymore and as this was a boutique safari lodge it required what they call “smart safari clothing”.

I actually had some cute safari outfits in mind from pieces I had picked up, so I didn’t need to go shopping for this trip. I’m going to share a detailed safari packing list and some exact women’s safari clothing that is stylish AND comfortable while still being “smart”.

You’ll also need some safari gear to go along with your outfits, so I’ll share all those details, too! I’m going to start out with some tips on just want to expect on safari in terms of the dirt, sun, weather, colors to avoid, and other things to make note of.

What to Wear on Safari | My Safari Packing List

Just how dirty will you get?

The roads are so dusty! Most safari parks are shut during the rainy season, so you’ll likely be on a safari when the roads are dusty. With an open-air vehicle, you’ll have the dust get on your skin, hair, and face plus of course all your clothes. Add on top of that there will be more Jeeps around that are kicking up dust.

Beyond dusty roads, there are some times when you might be able to get out of the safari vehicle (when it’s safe) so you’ll want to make sure you’re covered from your ankles to your collar bones! It just will make it so much nicer when you strip off your dirty clothes at the end of the day. Basically, this is not the time for a silky white dress! If you take a backpack, camera, hat, or anything – just know it’s ALL going to be covered in dust.

One other thing to avoid? Fleeces. They just attract the dirt in a big way! Fabrics that are similar to a windbreaker are best. You’ll likely wear the same jacket again and again. and it’s nice to just shake the dirt off so it’s fairly clean the next time you put it on.

What should I expect from the weather?

You are going to need layers. Safaris are usually sunrise and sunset that means it can be cool at the start of a morning safari and the end of an evening safari. But, when the sun is high in the sky, it’s HOT. It’s not a big problem; layers are key.

Don’t forget sun protection!

I wore a baseball hat the whole time. It protects from the sun but it also keeps my hair from getting tangled from the wind. I wore Sun Bum face stick sunscreen.

What colors to wear

You have to wear neutral earth-tone colors. Don’t be the person in a bright pink dress scaring off all the animals! You want to blend in. Tans and browns are good. Don’t wear white.

What about when I’m back at the hotel?

My resort was pretty luxurious, and if yours is too, you want to wear something “smart”. A nice midi dress, culottes with a button-up, or jeans and a linen top would be good options.

What Safari Gear You’ll Want to Bring

Safety/First Aid

Your safari car will likely have all the basic first aid things you might need but it doesn’t hurt to take some to have in your room or in your backpack (or in my case, fanny pack). One thing you need? bug repellant. I love the [easyazon_link identifier=”B004NRPD7G” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]mosquito wipes[/easyazon_link], so much easier to use than spray.

Camera Equipment

My camera is the [easyazon_link identifier=”B079VDF7ZG” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Panasonic Lumix GX85[/easyazon_link] and for the safari, I used my favorite zoom lens, the [easyazon_link identifier=”B01MU3WOVP” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Lumix G Vario 35-100mm F2.8[/easyazon_link]. This is zoom but not one of those intense ones that are huge. It’s small, and I carry it in my purse. I also recommend using a [easyazon_link identifier=”B07CGTVKSP” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]MegaGear leather case[/easyazon_link] to protect it from dust and dirt.

You safari might have [easyazon_link identifier=”B06XT7M6P5″ locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]binoculars[/easyazon_link] you can use, but if they don’t you DO want to have some yourself. You will also want an [easyazon_link keywords=”travel alarm clock” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]alarm clock[/easyazon_link] in case you don’t use your phone and for the lodge grounds, [easyazon_link keywords=”headlamp” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]a headlamp[/easyazon_link] is so helpful.

My Safari Outfits in India

Cooler Weather Safari Outfit

I am a fan of Anatomie clothing. It is lightweight, takes up essentially no luggage space, is wrinkle-resistant, can be hand-washed in cold water with hardly any effort, and dry in five minutes with a hair drier. According to their site, two pairs of pants weigh less than a banana. That saves a lot of space compared to two pairs of jeans! Plus, they are comfortable, neutral, and look safari-smart.

It’s expensive, and it’s something that you should invest in if you will be traveling a lot and want something you can pack without thinking. I wore these same outfits in Panama for all my adventure days and it’s nice to just have it for future trips.

This outfit is the “Kenya Safari Jacket” in Khaki. The pants are the “Luisa” in Khaki.

Not pictured, I also took the metallic Merika windbreaker.

I wore my FAVORITE UGG sneakers which I’ve shared about over and over, the “Tye” ones in the color “Slate”. I wore a black Free People bandana shirt with the Rolling Stones on it so it would look more chill and not like a “safari outfit”. I also took my NY Yankees hat, which is on every trip with me. I wore my Ray-Ban Wayfarer’s because they are big and cover a lot of my face. Take a scarf with you as well for on the car to protect your face.

Warmer Weather Safari Outfit

The above outfit is also Anatomie. The pants are the “Techno Chino” in grey and the top is “Melissa” tee in Grey. Again, I wore my UGG Tye tennies, Ray-Ban Wayfarer’s, and my NY Yankees hat. With this, I wore the same Merika windbreaker I mentioned above.

You might do four safaris on a trip (there are two a day at most places and many people do 3 nights/2 days on safari because it’s kind of pricey to do more), so I wore these two outfits twice each, except I changed tee shirts! But the same pants and jackets because they are that Anatomie fabric that you just brush off the dirt and it’s fine. They are so thin that you don’t sweat in them but also protect from the chill in the mornings.

Our safari gave us blankets to cover up with when it was cold!

Sleepwear

I also just throw in my Homebodii monogrammed pink satin PJ’s. I’m sure now you’ve seen them in basically all my packing posts! I almost always travel with a hair scarf these days and I’m wearing an Anthropologie ones in the photos above. I wore it up to the lodge with jeans and a linen button up one evening and it dresses up any outfit.

Hotel Lounging

I have two Free People “Love to Love You Midi Dresses”. I have a yellow one I loved but they went on clearance (and still are) so I got this sage green one which was $39 (steal) and perfect for a safari lodge. I took my UGG Kari Slides.

Really the UGG Tye sneakers and Kari slides are all I need these days when I travel in terms of shoes!

I didn’t take more photos at the lodge, but I did wear other clothes. My lodge safari clothes were:

• The midi dress picture above
• Levi’s that I wore with a GAP linen button-up in a cream color
• Linen overalls in navy blue that I wore a long-sleeve shirt underneath
• A long maxi dress from Lulu’s – maxi dresses are great, and the linen button-up over it

Pool Day

I took two swimsuits only because I was also on vacation going to other places. I took my favorite Melissa Odabash swimsuit, the “Mexico” which I have in black and brown. I also took my L*Space “Crossroads Texture” bikini with the Rebel top and Frenchi bottom.

A Sample Safari Packing List

Bags

Luggage & Carry-On

For luggage, I took my large Ebags Fortis bag and my small Ebags Fortis Pro (review of this one here). I’ve been such a Delsey luggage fan for so long, but lately have been gravitating to this set. The carry-on especially is my favorite by far right now. It blows away the “Away” bag!

Personal Item / daily bag

I took my current favorite backpack, the Lo and Sons Hanover, as my personal item on the plane (review of the brand here). This is IDEAL because it has all my electronics in it but they are in the organized, pocketed inner-shell. You then unclip that and take it out, leaving an empty backpack and all your stuff that was in it, still in the inner-shell, in the hotel room. I then took the outer shell as my safari bag! It was perfect. I threw in my hat, scarf, sunglasses, ID (you need to take ID for parks!), bug repellant, camera, and lenses.

Safari Clothing

• 4 Shirts (two long-sleeve and two short-sleeve)
• 2 jackets (one heavier than the other)
• 2 Safari pants
• 1 linen button-up shirt
• 1 Leggings for layering if it’s very cold
• Baseball Hat
• Tennis Shoes for the safari
• Sunglasses
• Scarf (large for face and small for hair)

Hotel Clothing

• PJs
• Jeans
• Pantsuit (linen is nice because it’s warmer than cotton and looks nicer)
• Culottes (I love the chinos from Anthropologie)
• 2 maxi dresses
• Button-up shirt
• 1 long-sleeve shirt
• 1 tee shirt
• Sandals
• Bikini
• Swimsuit cover-up

Toiletries

• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• It’s a 10 (you’ll need detangler from all the wind!)
• Lotion (you need some serious body lotion because the dust dries you out, I like Aveda)
• Because it’s dry, also Vitamin C serum and a face mask (loving the Milk mask from Patchology)
• BB Cream or Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer

Tech Gear

• [easyazon_link identifier=”B079VDF7ZG” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Panasonic Lumix GX85[/easyazon_link]
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B01MU3WOVP” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Lumix G Vario 35-100mm F2.8[/easyazon_link]
• [easyazon_link keywords=”Headlamp” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Headlamp[/easyazon_link]
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B07CXG6C9W” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Kindle[/easyazon_link] (so much downtime and many lodges won’t have WiFI!)

Overall, the thing that made my trip easy was the Anatomie outfits. If I had the budget, I’d get one more to take with me but they are pricey – I’m happy I have the two I do, and they take up NO space and are so nice to throw on and feel totally “ready” and looking good and “smart” but also cute and blending it safari-style!

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For more packing tips:

• The Only Beach Vacation Packing List You Need
• Packing For Finland in Winter: Don’t Make the Mistakes I Did
• Packing for Various Regions of Long-term Travel in One Suitcase

Pin what to wear on safari for later!

The post What to Wear On Safari: A Complete Packing List & Outfit Examples appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

My feet are getting itchy again – and I’m dying to go somewhere totally new! This last year, I did some traveling in North India, Singapore, Malaysia, and the typical USA/UK trips but I didn’t really go crazy compared to the year before where I think I went to Finland, Bali, Morocco, Israel, and Latvia just in the winter.

The biggest reason for it wasn’t that I was bored of traveling or ran out of money – it was that it was my last season in Goa and I really wanted to spend time in India. But, now that I’ve moved to Merida and am enjoying getting totally embedded into a new culture, I’m ready to go explore again.

I will say, I am a bit pickier than I used to be. As a travel blogger, I get invitations to go on trips a lot. At one point two years ago, I took on a handful of writers who I sent in my place to Nepal, Maldives, Luxembourg, and even sailing a luxury yacht around the Greek islands. But, after a year, I decided I really didn’t want to just send people on trips just to get content added to my blog and ended it.

Just this week, I have had invitations to Thailand, Sri Lanka, Uttarakhand, and several luxury hotels. Most don’t work out time-wise and others aren’t the type of travel I do (ie: bird-watching or a camping trip). But, I do have some travels planned (ish). I’m only going to say the ones that are confirmed because I fully believe in jinxing myself, but there are a couple more fun trips added into these.

June: Merida

This month I am staying put in Merida, well the month is almost over now – but we had our first month living here and loved it. We are seeing some towns nearby in the Yucatan but mostly staying put.

July: Atlanta

Just a quick stop in Atlanta for a couple of days to do some residency paperwork and have a meeting with the Mexican consulate. Anyone know of a great boutique hotel or Airbnb in ATL? I also am hoping to meet up with my (now) friend Naveen, who runs Next Vacay. I’ve worked with him on promotions for his amazing flight deals for three years and we’ve become friends, so it’ll be great to finally meet in person if he’s not off traveling the world.

July: Ohio

As always, I head home to see family in July. I am going for two weeks and Ben is coming with me. He hasn’t been to Ohio in a couple of years and actually hasn’t met a lot of my friends so it’s going to be fun: heading up to the lake with my dad’s fishing boat, having cook-outs, going shopping lol (sorry Ben), and hanging with my friends that still live in Ohio. We’ve luckily found a great dog sitter here in Merida! She came by and met our pouches and they were all totally in love.

August: Panama and Costa Rica

As soon as I got to our new home in Yucatan and really studied the map, I was like holy crap, I could drive to Belize and Guatemala in half a day. I decided then that I really needed to take a couple of weeks and go somewhere in Central America. I reached out to my best travel blogging buddy who lives up in Norway, Heart My Backpack, and begged her to come along – but I woke up to a very excited message that she would freaking love to. Yay! Girls trip in the making… We met in Finland and are just about as weird as each other, lol (jk, Silv!). We decided based on reading all of Alex in Wanderland’s Central America blog posts that we needed to focus on Panama and then cross over into Costa Rica at the end. Nothing is planned yet except for that. I really wanted to go to Guatemala and Nicaragua first but between a serious volcano eruption in the first and news of impending civil war in the second, with other bloggers saying it was unsafe and they had to leave the country, I figured I can wait and go there next time.

September: TBEX in Finger Lakes, NY

So some crazy last minute news is that I am speaking at TBEX. TBEX is a travel blogging conference held in a few places around the world each year. I am speaking on outsourcing with Alex and Angie (from AngieAway). I am so excited to be on a panel with them and excited to go network now that I live in North America and can finally work with some tourism boards that were just too far away from India to make a quick week-long trip. I went to TBEX in Bangkok, their first in Asia, about 3 years ago but have heard the North America ones are the best so cannot wait to check it out.

November: India

Still looking at going to Inida in November. If I have other trips come up, it could be pushed back to January. I am excited to be working with a hotel I’ve partnered with before there on a campaign in Madhya Pradesh (and fingers crossed I finally see a tiger). I also want to go somewhere that readers ask about a lot and after really thinking about it I think you guys want content on Calcutta, Darjeeling, and Sikkim. So I’ll likely spend two weeks there then head down to Goa to see friends for a week or so. Ben has work in India in Mumbai, Chennai, and Pune so probably will head over to India together.

I’m excited about all my upcoming trips!

I think there are two other trips that will come to fruition, one this summer, and one the end of September, both in the USA. Between all the travel, I look forward to exploring the Yucatan more and going to check out some (from what I hear, touristy) places on the Caribbean coast like Cancun and Playa Del Carmen but also some lesser known places like Isla Mujeres and Bacalar. I also want to travel around Mexico and Ben wants to hit up Mexico City for the Grand Prix in early November. So lots to do, but also want to enjoy our gorgeous rental home in Merida and build a house (lol, so little time).

Do you have any fun summer plans coming up? Is there somewhere else in India I haven’t been you think I should go to instead of Calcutta. Tell me about it!

The post Where to Next? My Upcoming Travel Plans for Summer/Fall ’18 appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

I have a series on my blog called Ask Me Anything and I keep track of reader questions that I get over and over and slowly answer them with a full blog post. So, many of you email saying something like, “How to fly so much? How do you deal with taking so many exhausting long-haul flights? Do you want to quit traveling sometimes?” I’ll answer that and give some tips for long flights. 

Tips for Long Flights:

“How do you deal with taking so many long flights every year? Don’t you ever get tired and want to stop traveling?”

I get exhausted from them just like anyone else and I haven’t become immune to that. It doesn’t get so bad that I want to stop traveling but I have taken breaks from travel for a month or two at a time because the idea of going back to an airport is too unappealing.

I hate flying… I hate getting ready, going to the airport, the whole experience. I’m not chilled out until I’m at a cafe near my gate and can see the name of the city I’m headed to – so I know I’m in the right place. On flights with 5 layovers, this is really tiring. Having anxiety while traveling and being a travel blogger seem like it doesn’t make sense, but it’s actually not that unusual as many people feel this way.

My mom and I recently went from Ohio to Florida and back and that required a layover. This is such a simple journey. So imagine, a restless night afraid my alarm won’t go off, waking up at 6 am, an hour drive to the airport, getting through security and chilling for two hours, the flight, layover chill out, another flight, then getting a rental car and driving to the hotel in Florida… it’s kind of tiring and we didn’t reach until nearly 4 pm. That is a long day to go just from Ohio to Florida – 10 hours – and that is probably the shortest flight route I did all year.

On the way back to India this year I flew: Myrtle Beach to Charlotte to Toronto to Amsterdam to Mumbai to Goa. That’s five flights over nearly two days.

I do these types of journeys a LOT maybe every 2-3 months I do a really big flight. Sometimes I stay in a hotel at the airport to break it up and sometimes there isn’t enough time to even try to nap.

Flying in India always involves flying to Mumbai or Delhi first and because of flight times it usually means taking the latest flight out of Goa at 10 or 11 pm, and waiting at the Mumbai airport for international flights that go out at 5 or 6 am. Not quite long enough for a hotel sleep! So, I start most of my journeys tired before I even leave India.

A lot of people who fly mostly domestically still find it stressful, boring, and tiresome and I do too – so these long ones require a few days to deal with jet lag on a new time zone.

So people do ask me how I manage to take so many a year when they suck so bad, how I still feel energized for more trips when they take a month to recover from their tiring beach vacation.

I get it! Travel is so hard sometimes. It can be draining bopping around all over and it means when you get home you’re likely behind on work and chores.

I do still feel up for more travel usually, although like to take at least 3 weeks between big trips. Last year, after I went to Israel, England, Latvia, and Morocco in one go, I realized that I would never have made it as a “digital nomad”. I mean, how would I ever get work done!? I was so tired that I took two months off and stayed in India before my very long trip to Finland.

But, although I don’t mind the flights too much, there is a limit and once I reach it there’s not much that can get me on a trip. I was invited to a beautiful overwater villa on an island in the Caribbean last year for a THREE-night stay (and would have been paid). That would take like 20 hours to reach each way – I was too tired to extend the trip and travel around that area, so I turned it down. I knew I wouldn’t enjoy it at all and would be jetlagged the whole first day there.

Because I was based in India, I realized I was turning down a lot of offers for press trips due to distance and time traveling. That is part of why I hired writers to go in my place.

How to make the flights more bearable

I’ll share a few tips on what I do to make the most of these long journeys. Some people say that you should try to match your sleep up to the right time zone, but I go by the philosophy of “more sleep is always better” so I will never try to stay awake so I can sleep on a plane. I sleep as much as possible before a flight and on it (I am lucky to be able to sleep on a plane). Then if I arrive somewhere and it’s night time, I go to sleep! haha – the more the better. If I can’t sleep on a plane then at least I had a good sleep before boarding and I remind myself that I can sleep when I reach and just make the best of the plane ride by watching movies.

I pretend there is no food and drink service on all the flights I take – and come prepared. I bring water and try to get a sandwich in the airport. That way, I don’t have to have a tray sitting in front of me for an hour while I want to go back to sleep but am waiting for them to collect, and waste time that could be spent sleeping for a crappy airplane meal.

I only have coffee before a flight if it’s a morning flight for a short trip where I stay in the same time zone (or close to it).

I also make sure I have done all the work I need to do before boarding, pack everything I need in my personal bag (toiletries and fully charged electronics: a good book, movie, and TV shows on my tab), and make sure I’m nice and clean and freshly showered so I feel good! It doesn’t hurt to also wear an outfit that you feel comfy and fab in.

I try to book international flights at night time so I can pretend like I am just going to bed, but even for international day flights I try to “go to bed”. It’s the only way to make time pass faster. I do wear an eye mask, earplugs if they are on the plane, socks, and my TRTL pillow to get fully comfortable. I’m often already wearing all that, ready to go to sleep, before the plane takes off.

How I sleep on the plane…

In this case, above, I’ve let my legs a bit free because it’s just Ben sitting next to me, haha but normally I keep them under me and much more tucked up so I’m not in anyone else’s space.

I sleep a little weird, but it doesn’t invade anyone’s space. Promise! And I only do this on long-haul flights where the lights are out and everyone is sleeping.

Basically, I stand backward facing the back of the plane in front of my seat then sit on my knees, then scooch my butt to the side, and turn my head to the other side and wrap in a blanket so I’m kind of like a swaddled baby. No little bumps will wake me and I’m not even touching the armrests on either side or bothering anyone. I’m actually not that flexible and it still seems to work out. Being curled up on a ball just helps me sleep so much better and I don’t get swollen feet/ankles.

My neighbors even get extra leg space out of it since my legs are tucked up. I can stay like this for like 10 hours (I know, it’s mental). When I wake up my neck and knees hurt, but I’ll probably do this until my body rejects it or I gain weight. If you’re smallish like I am, give it a try! I also love my TRTL pillow for when I face forward (when my legs fall asleep, ha ha, and I have to put them down like a normal person). I wrote a review of it here.

Read more on flying:

• How to book the cheapest international flight
• Review of Kiwi.com (my favorite booking site)
• Travel outfit ideas for planes
• Best pillow for flying

The post Ask Me Anything: How Do You Deal with Taking Long Flight Journeys (Like USA to India) Multiple Times a Year? appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

I have a series on my blog called Ask Me Anything and I keep track of reader questions that I get over and over and slowly answer them with a full blog post. So, many of you email saying something like, “I want to travel the world! You’re so lucky! How do you get to travel so much?” I want to break it down here and start with how I get to travel so much plus how you can too.

I want to travel the world!

It seems weird to say this, but travel is the “it thing”. Everything online is about cool hotels to see, great places to travel, and Instagram is full of “travel-inspo” getting you pumped for your next trip. In fact, Forbes says the following are true:

• Seventy percent of millennials identified travel as their primary reason to work.
• 5% of millennials identified themselves as digital nomads.

Not only are young people saying “I want to travel the world”, but they are saying “I want to travel the world for a living”.

There are even viral articles about how us millennials are traveling too much and wasting money rather than buying houses that we can’t afford. A study showed that travel was more important to millennials than buying a house, a car, or even paying off debt. Many of the travelers I’ve met are in huge debt from college still. The same survey also looked into how millennials choose their location for the next trip and 75% of those surveyed said social media made their decision.

Many people see travel bloggers like myself on Instagram and Facebook traveling the world for a living and they think: I want to travel the world for a living, where do I start?

How I Get to Travel So Much

I’ll start with how I get to travel so much and how I got “lucky” enough to have this job as a travel blogger/influencer.

I started this blog four years ago on a whim, with no background knowledge of what a blog was. Now, I have over 1 million page views each month on my blog. Travel blogging wasn’t new when I started, but it wasn’t as saturated as it is now. Please check out this article which explains how exactly I got started with travel blogging personally.

I didn’t just become successful overnight and my parents/boyfriend aren’t paying for it (as so many people comment to tell me they think is the case!). It’s competitive and you have to work really hard. After I left nursing and moved to India, I was a masseuse for some time and sold candles on the side while my blog grew into a career. After six months, I made it into a list of top 50 bloggers and I felt like “wow this was easier than I thought” but shortly after that, travel blogging became HUGE and there were millions of travel blogs created – I dropped off the list (and eventually got back on it, currently at #7). They say one is created every half-second! Bloggers were offering retreats to come learn how to travel like them, and people were eating it all up – not that it was bad, but things changed. Travel blogging became a lot more saturated and it was a question of how to stand out. I worked my butt off on the blog and social media, learning everything I could about SEO, Pinterest marketing, photography, you name it! Now, four years later, I make a lot more money than I did as a nurse and finally feel at ease. I don’t work in a hospital anymore and can pick up and travel at any time, while earning money online. I know what people want to know and that is how I make money online, so just click that link and you can read the exact streams of income that I have.

Do I travel for free? Sometimes. I could travel for free all the time if I put the effort into pitching airlines, hotels, and tourism boards or took every press trip offered to me. I don’t, though. I don’t like to be constantly traveling. I’m actually a homebody! I take trips I want to take on my own dime and I go places I hadn’t really considered when I’m invited, like Finland where I got to dogsled with Huskeys! As a blogger, I work with brands to promote them on my travels and not only do I then get to travel for free, but I often get paid for it. That is because I have readers, like you, and followers on social media.

So, the short of it is that travel blogging is my job, and that is how I get to travel so much. It wasn’t handed to me and I didn’t have a background in tech. I learned everything from YouTube videos and had my boyfriend help me set up my website. I love my job but with my work all being online and based on the fact that people are obsessed with travel and social media later, I know that blogging might not be forever, so I always keep a backup plan.

If you think that starting a travel blog is something you’d like to do, then go for it. You can start a blog in 10 minutes for as little as $2.95 per month. Here’s a blog post on exactly how to do that, step by step, with screenshots so you can’t mess it up!

Option #1: “I want to travel for free too!”

Well, the way I do it is blogging, and like I linked above you could blog so that you earn money while you travel. That’s one way! You can read this article on how to start a blog (step by step) for $2.95 per month.

Another way is if you are super hot you can be an Instagram celebrity lol, they travel for free everywhere and don’t even have to make websites! Kind of joking on that one, but not really.

I have a blog post with 14 ways you can work abroad and earn money while you travel, and they aren’t all online jobs, so check that out.

In general, you have to hustle pretty hard to travel for free or you have to have a skillset or job you can do while you travel which can offset costs.

Option #2: “I want to travel the world, but accept I have to pay for it.”

This is a more achievable statement.

I know that you see me traveling for free or getting paid, so therefore you want to do that same thing, and you CAN if you start a travel blog but try to keep in mind that it doesn’t come easy and I pinch myself sometimes to see if it’s all real. It really is amazing.

If you want to travel the world but accept the fact that you have to PAY FOR IT then let’s talk about the steps you can take and options to consider

• Save money
• Choose a job/major in college that allows travel
• Study abroad if you are in school
• Consider a new career if you feel stuck (that’s what I did)
• Teach yourself a new skill to earn money on the side and eventually switch to that skill being your new career. Off the top of my head:
  • Photography
  • Graphic design
  • Video
  • Video Editing
  • Coding
  • WordPress Design
  • Cooking
  • Making a product: candles, clothing, crafts
• See if there are options in your current career to travel more
• Look into volunteer projects that offer free housing and food
• Think about becoming your own boss and following a passion of something you are good at, like these possibilities that you could do on the road
  • Become a yoga teacher
  • Become a masseuse
  • Become a fitness/pilates instructor
• Think about moving abroad and starting as an expat somewhere
• Start taking weekend trips
• Start traveling in your own country first
• Use sites like Next Vacay or the Anywhere Tool with Kiwi.com to fly somewhere really really cheap
• It’s important to cut expenses while you start out. Check out these tips from some of the top travel bloggers out there, about how to save money while you travel.

Those are just some ideas off the top of my head, but basically, you should think about what’s holding you back from traveling. Is it your job? How can you fix that? Is it that you have a pet or child? Can you take them with you? Is it lack of money? How can you earn more?

Think about the obstacles in your way and how you can overcome them.

It’s not easy. It looks easy on Instagram, but it’s not easy to give up whatever you are doing and start traveling. So, you can do it two ways: you can start small by doing weekend trips and build on that momentum or you can do it big, quit your job, move abroad, find work in a restaurant. It’s possible. I meet travelers every week here in Goa who are broke and working random jobs to keep traveling.

You have to think about what works for you and if you actually feel the calling to travel or consider if it’s just FOMO because you on Instagram and see others doing it. Travel isn’t always roses, so don’t base it on Instagram!

I hope that you do start traveling and wish you the best of luck! Leave a comment if you are going to start a new journey.

The post Ask Me Anything: I Want to Travel The World, How Do You Travel So Much? appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

It’s super tempting to travel in your pajamas or sweatpants, especially for the long-haul ones. However, it IS possible to look stylish while you’re lugging your suitcase around and be comfortable. I’ve taken a lot of different flights over the years, so I put together some of my favorite combinations. Here are the best travel outfits for planes depending on your style! While I mix it up, I’ll admit the leggings outfit sometimes wins out when it’s a longggg flight haha!

Best Travel Outfits for Planes

Classic Outfit

Skinny Jeans/Jeggings + V-Neck + Slide Sneakers + Oversized Knit

You can’t go wrong with this outfit for the plane – just choose jeans that aren’t too tight on the waistband. Throwing a nice baggy sweater over top of the outfit makes it perfect.

Casual Outfit

Yoga Capris + T-Shirt + Flip Flops

My go-to when I fly international and long-haul. My flights to India are something 30-40 hours all together and it can be exhausting. The last thing I want to worry about is how I look. I will sometimes wear this with high top sneakers to look a little more put together. I always choose some really cool leggings, though!

Hot Weather Outfit

Loose Pants + T-Shirt + Sandals

India, Bali – this is the one! I wear this combo when I travel around hot countries and countries that are a little more conservative. In general, I like to wear “ali baba”/harem style pants, silk trousers, and other baggy style trousers that make me feel like I’m not in gym clothes but as comfortable as if I were!

Cooler Weather Outfit

Loose Shirt + Cableknit Sweater + Fleece Leggings + Slides or Boots

Flying into Europe in the winter (like when I went to Finland last year!) this is the best outfit because layers are exactly what you need! If you don’t have fleece leggings, go get you a pair! You won’t regret it.

Sporty Outfit

Baseball Cap + Jogger Pants + Boxy Tee + Sneakers

Are you in on the “jogger pants” vibe yet? It’s not going away. I feel like it’s the only acceptable way to wear actual sweats these days. Plus, it’s only in the USA that people go to the grocery and out in public in sweatpants. In Europe, people find it odd, and if you are flying internationally, it does make you feel a bit gross.

Chic Outfit

Jumpsuit + Tee + Mules or Slides

I save this for short flights: within the USA, within India, or mostly just domestic flights or flights under 3 hours. I love jumpsuits because they are comfortable, take literally no time to style, and make you look instantly chic with basically zero effort. They do sometimes get wrinkled which is why I go for this on shorter flights where I won’t be figeting around trying to get comfortable sleeping.

For More Travel Packing Posts:

• Vegas Carry On Packing Guide
• Carry On Packing List
• What to Put in Your Tote

Pin this post for later!

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Welcome back to This is India! I always have funny/weird stories about India to share with friends or family when I talk to them. This is just meant to be an honest portrayal of my life in India through short anecdotes. I also share here what I’ve been up to online outside Hippie in Heels.

What I was up to other than here:

• Our friends Dom and Massy have been here this week (remember we went to their wedding in Singapore?) It’s been so much fun, on the go, eating everything, and having an awesome beach Christmas.
• I think I’ll do a “this is India” about our Christmas! Coming soon, haha.
• I read [easyazon_link identifier=”006204981X” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]A State of Wonder[/easyazon_link] and HIGHLY recommend it! It’s about some doctors going out to a tribe in the Amazon to find out how they get pregnant up till they die of old age – like 80-year-old pregnant people is the norm! It was really cool.
• It’s the end of the year for my blog, and I am happy to say I passed all of my blogging goals. Starting this new year, I haven’t actually made any new goals so I think I’ll sit down this week and try to think what they would be. I want my blog to keep growing and not just get stagnant or boring so am always trying to think of ways to mix it up. I added other writers last year, which was really fun – and took some different trips like snow fun in Finland.
• Next week, I head to a private island off Singapore… I’ll tell you more soon!

Now your story,

I was scrolling Facebook when I saw an ad for a guy called Prateek playing at a new place in Goa called Village Studio, in Parra. I was like “it CAN’T be the same Prateek Kuhad on my Spotify “favorites” playlist can it!?” I googled it and it was. This is basically the most exciting thing ever because I never hear of live music in Goa that I like.

Village Studio is a new place in Parra this season and it’s really done up nicely. I didn’t try the food and for this event, they were serving Bira beer only (I think a partnership just for the event). I had lots of nice wine, though!

It was at 7 PM but everything in India happens later than they say and I think it started around 8 – but we got there early to try and find a seat. We totally failed at that, so stood on the edge. It was still amazing and it was cool to meet other people in Goa that aren’t into trance as much and like a more laid-back place. Anyway, it was so exciting that I wanted to share the song.

Can you believe this was just a $6 cover charge? I have like 300 songs on my favorites playlist and I’m not even sure how he ended up there but I have been singing this song constantly for the last year. It was too cool to see him live. He’s really talented!

This is India!

The post This is India! 152 appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

Peru is the most complicated destination I’ve ever had to pack for – so I want to help you avoid the stress with some tips on what to pack for Peru! This country has hot coastal beaches, wet Amazon rainforest, a mostly temperate capital city, and very cold destinations in the Andean highlands.

That’s not to mention the specific gear you need for the many amazing treks and camping opportunities in the mountains. So how do you fit it all in one suitcase? You have to be strategic! Here are my top tips for your Peru packing list.

Peru Packing Tips

My trip was a bit tricky since I travel full-time, I only always have the same things in my suitcase. I knew I didn’t have all the necessary things since I don’t often visit places that are cold enough for winter gear. But I had done my research and knew it was possible to buy a lot of things in Cusco or even rent gear. So know this is an option for you if for some reason you can’t bring everything with you, or if you end up forgetting something.

Also, if you just don’t have the space to bring a big item like a down jacket, you can rent this for the days that you need them from one of the many trekking shops in Cusco. I did this since I don’t have room in my suitcase to constantly travel with a down jacket, and it worked out great.

I stayed in Peru for 7 weeks, but I always have about a week’s worth of clothing with me. Then I do laundry at the end of each week. No matter the length of your trip, I recommend you bring clothing for 7 days. It’s really easy to do laundry anywhere in the country.

In Cusco, you’ll find several laundromats on every block since trekking is so common in this region and tourists end up with sweaty/dirty clothing! You can drop it off and pick it back up later in the day: cleaned, folded, and ready to go.

Peru Packing List: Shoes & Socks

City Boots

You’ll want these for walking around Lima and Cusco and can pair them with a dress if you want to “dress up” a bit. Lucky Brand makes some really nice black booties.

Good Athletic Shoes or Hiking Boots

One question I had before I went was – would my athletic shoes be sufficient for some of the difficult treks I’d be doing? I had booked tours to hike the Inca Trail for 2 days as well as the 2-day hike to Rainbow Mountain. My tour company advised that many people, the co-owner included, do these hikes regularly in athletic shoes and think they are sufficient.

I did both hikes in my athletic shoes and it was 100% fine. I was comfortable, didn’t feel unstable, and my feet weren’t sore afterward. Just make sure they have good treads on the bottom, are broken in, and give good support. If you have really weak ankles or are trekking during a rainy season, waterproof hiking boots might be more comfortable for you.

Read More: Best Travel Shoes

Teva Athletic Sandals

You only really need these if you’re heading to any of the hot areas like the northern beaches or the Amazon, or maybe Lima in their summer (January-February).

SHOP SHOES BELOW

3 good pairs of long wool hiking socks

Do not underestimate the importance of good socks when heading to Peru! They make a huge difference in comfort. Remember that it’s quite cold in the highlands and warm socks will be a lifesaver.

Be sure to have 3 pairs of long warm socks – preferably wool. You’ll want to wear this on cold weather treks and to bed every single night. REI always has a great selection.

4 pairs of regular socks

You might want to wear this around the city, or on warmer weather treks like the Inca Trail, etc. You can just get any old pair of Target or somewhere.

Peru Packing List: Bottoms

Jeans

Even if you are a dress kinda girl, you’ll be mostly wearing pants and activewear while traveling in Peru. Jeans will be handy for city walks or anytime you’re not hiking. Topshop Jamie jeans are always a favorite.

Athletic Pants

1 other pair of pants – either athletic pants or some comfortable fabric pants to wear on treks and layer thermal leggings underneath for especially cold places or camping in the mountains. Athleta makes some nice joggers that are also good for layering.

A Pair of Leggings

Leggings will be your best friends on this trip! Pack at least one good pair. Girlfriend has some fantastic leggings.

Thermal Leggings

Absolutely bring a pair of thermal leggings. You will want to wear this on especially cold treks like hiking in the Ausangate range. You might also wear them to bed every night in the highlands. Definitely get the UNIQLO Heattech ones.

Shorts

1 pair ONLY if you’re heading to beaches or the Amazon. You absolutely won’t need them otherwise. You can’t go wrong with Levi’s.

SHOP BOTTOMS BELOW

What to Pack for Peru: Tops

4 T-shirts

Make these shirts a mix of comfy t-shirts that can be worn layered on treks, to bed, or around the city. Always a fan of Everlane T-shirts as well as ASOS T-shirts.

1 or 2 Dresses

You might want to bring 1 or 2 dresses for a change of pace, going out in Cusco, or strolling the streets in Lima. But you really don’t need more than 1 or 2! You will most likely be dressing in active clothing for most of the trip.

Uniqlo Heattech Thermal long sleeve shirt

This is an important one! Having a warm base layer under your other layers will make you much more comfortable when hiking, camping, or sleeping in Cusco. I used a Uniqlo heat tech shirt and it worked wonderfully. It’s so small and thin, but really keeps you so much warmer and is easy to layer.

1 Hoodie

Having a warm hoodie is important in the chilly highlands. You’ll want to layer this with t-shirts and your thermal long sleeve shirt when it gets especially cold. This can also be nice to throw on as a light jacket in temperate places like Lima.

A Down Jacket

A down jacket will make you so much more comfortable during the Peruvian winter, and on highland treks. I did most of my trip without one since I don’t want to travel with one all the time. But I knew I absolutely needed one for my Rainbow Mountain overnight trek (where temperatures can get down to 10 degrees F at night!). So I rented one from a trekking shop in Cusco for the 2 days for $6 a day. It was totally worth it!

Rain jacket – and/or poncho

These are more must-haves. Even if you’re traveling in dry season, the weather in the mountains can be unpredictable. Don’t be caught out in the open on a trek without some protection.

Pack a lightweight rain jacket – it won’t take up much space and will keep you comfortable in a storm. Also consider bringing a big rain poncho to put overtop yourself and your backpack. This will keep you extra dry and keep your things from getting wet while you’re trekking. If you don’t have one to bring with you, you can find these for cheap in any tourist area.

Accessories to Pack for Peru

A pair of gloves

Gloves will make you much more comfortable while hiking. I wore a versatile pair that was fingerless but had a mitten flap that folded over. This made it easy for me to take pictures, but then pull the flap over when I needed extra warmth.

Scarf

A scarf will be a welcome layer when doing high altitude hikes or even in Cusco in the evening.

Warm beanie

A must-have for warmth when trekking or even at night in Cusco.

Baseball hat/hat with brim

This is super important for any hikes. The sun is strong at this altitude! Can also come in handy if you’re lounging on a beach.

Other Things to Pack for Peru

Bathing suit

This is probably only necessary if you’re heading to the beaches, but there are also some hot springs in the highlands that you might want to visit after a difficult trek!

Read More: My Favorite Bikinis for Travel

Camera

You’ll definitely want proof of all the beautiful places you go! Whether it’s your phone, or something more substantial, be sure to pack this. I like to travel with a [easyazon_link identifier=”B01DOKHS8E” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Lumix mirrorless camera[/easyazon_link] – it’s fairly small and lightweight, but takes great photos.

[easyazon_link identifier=”B073FHBNGY” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Portable charger powerpack for phone[/easyazon_link]

A portable charger like this one by [easyazon_link identifier=”B01JM2VEII” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Cheero[/easyazon_link]is always a lifesaver for me when traveling, but even more so when doing overnight treks or long tour days. My phone will run out of battery fast when I’m taking a lot of photos, or if you’re camping in the wilderness, you won’t be able to recharge overnight unless you have one of these with you.

Read More: The Best Travel Gadgets

Toiletries to Pack for Peru

[easyazon_link identifier=”B0051SZB14″ locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Moisturizing lotion[/easyazon_link]

It’s very very dry in the highlands. You’ll want to use more lotion than normal!

[easyazon_link identifier=”B0054NFYDG” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Insect repellent[/easyazon_link]

Some of the highlands like Cusco are too high in elevation for bugs, but Machu Picchu is lower, and has lots of mosquitos. You’ll also find mosquitos in the Amazon and on the beaches.

[easyazon_link identifier=”B004XGPMFA” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Sunscreen[/easyazon_link]

The sun is strong! You’ll want to make sure to apply sunscreen often when you’re out on treks or tours.

Read More: 18 Travel Beauty Hacks You Need to Try

What NOT to Pack for Peru

The last suggestion is actually what NOT to pack. You’ll want to be sure to leave extra empty space in your suitcase before you arrive in Peru because this country has some of the most beautiful textiles in the world! You’ll be tempted to buy lots of alpaca sweaters, knit hats, colorful blankets, and other beautiful things. Do yourself a favor and leave yourself room to pick up things as you go.

And that’s it! Everything you want to know on what to pack for Peru for any length of time.

For more packing posts:

• Where to Buy Stylish Travel Clothes
• 17 of the Best Travel Packing Hacks
• How to Use the KonMari Method to Pack Efficiently

Pin for Later!

The post What to Pack for Peru (and What NOT to Pack) appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

If you read my last post on what’s new in my world, then you know I just headed back to Europe for a bit and my bestie, Arielle, is finally met Ben! This also means I was in England for late summer/early fall, which is very different from late summer/early fall in Goa. Here’s my full London packing list for the fall so you know what to pack for this time of year too!

London Packing List for the Fall

Quick Things to Note:

• Late summer/early fall in England is literally a toss-up. One day, in St. Ives I laid at the beach and got a sunburn BUT at the same time, you couldn’t get in the sea without a wet suit and the wind was fierce. Other days, I had on jeans, boots, a long sleeve shirt, and leather jacket and was still a bit cold walking outside. The key is *LAYERS*
• If you haven’t booked your tickets yet, I swear Kiwi always finds the best and cheapest options for getting there!
• England can be expensive, so make sure you have travel insurance just in case anything goes wrong.

Below is my luggage fully packed for England:

The Suitcase – Delsey

I’ve been using Delsey luggage for years and although I have other favorite luggages, this has always been and probably always will be my go-to. I bought it years before I started blogging and it’s still in perfect condition. It’s been through a lot.

See all my picks for stylish luggage here

I also totally swear by packing cubes for keeping myself organized! I have way too many, and they’re all from ebags. Looks how organized it made my bag! It’s so easy to get to everything when I’m traveling.

The Bags

1 bigger tote bag

My exact one is here. I live for this bag from Bali Since it was a two-week trip where I’d be lugging my luggage around a lot, it was unnecessary to take a rolling carry on. And Instead of my new favorite backpack, I took this cute tote as it could double up as a purse when I have huge days out and need to take my camera or do shopping.

1 smaller cross body bag

This one is similar to mine. This bag is the same brand as the tote, Etnika, it’s from Bali but sold on Etsy. I actually packed this purse in my luggage and only carried my tote on the plane. Since this wasn’t a “blogging” trip, I had a lot less tech equipment to take with me.

Check out all the different styles and sizes here.

The Shoes

2 pairs of mule-style sandals

Mine are Sola Sana and James Smith the Label (the tan platforms).

1 pair of UGG high top sneakers

My sneakers are actually from UGG! You wouldn’t think they have great sneakers, but I got these nearly two years ago and they are so comfortable; I’ve worn them around Morocco, Israel, and the cities – they make a boring outfit look so much cooler. I actually have them in tan, too!

1 pair of black booties

My booties are from Steve Madden. I’ve had these boots forEVER and wear them on every trip I go on that’s somewhat cold plus wear them out partying here in Goa even when it’s warm, with a little dress. They are really versatile and I actually have just bought them in dark brown because they were FINALLY on sale but I left them in Ohio because I’m weird like that.

The Tops

2 sweaters.

I packed just two cute throw over sweaters, one that is heavier and one that is lighter. Both can fit comfortably under my leather jacket, which is important.

10 tops.

This was a two-week trip where I had access to laundry, so the number of tops depends on your trip length. My favorite two tops I packed are the flowy Free People top above with lemons (even though Ben’s bro said it looked like I was wearing a picnic table cover) and the striped yellow tee shirt (which I wore in all my Howth photos) from Madewell.

Everything Else

Leather Jacket

2 Pairs of Jamie Jeans

I live in these type of jeans and think they are the BEST fitting jeans on me.

Sports Bra

Yoga/Lounge Leggings

For More Packing Posts

• 17 Travel Packing Hacks
• Packing for Finland in the Winter
• Packing for Various Regions of Long-Term Travel

Pin “London Packing List for the Fall” for later!

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When it comes to packing light or fitting everything into a carry-on, I love finding multipurpose travel bags to use as my personal handbag. I always put all my tech items in my personal bag in case they make me force-check my carry-on. I put my laptop, tablet, Kindle, camera, and lenses in my personal bag as well as charger cords, portable chargers, and camera batteries. I also add in a few bits of clothing, sweater, glasses case, eye mask, moisturizer, and socks! I’ve tried a lot of different ones, from backpacks to totes, so I wanted to list my personal recommendations below.

The Best Multipurpose Travel Bags

I’m going to share my favorite “personal item” travel bags for all different durations of trips and when I choose which type of bag.

EBags Professional Slim Laptop Backpack

Best backpack ever? Yes. I have so many backpacks and totes, and when I go to India each year there is a real space limit problem. I can only take my *favorite* things and this bag is THAT. It is my #1 personal item. It’s not that cute, I know. I mean, it’s not ugly, but it’s no leather tote! It’s so organized though and fits SO much I can’t imagine going back to the tote when I do my big trips. I wrote a longer review of this backpack if you want something more in depth.

See the different laptop backpack styles on Ebags here.

LeSportsac Essential Backpack

So, LeSportsac makes these really tiny lightweight backpacks. It rolls up so tiny that I pack it in my luggage on trips so that I can use it for a day trip bag. It’s the PERFECT bag for theme parks and I’ve carried it at Disney and Universal. I have taken it to the beach and use it when I’ll be out all day and don’t want to carry a purse. They are cheap enough and last forever.

You can get one here or shop different styles below:

MZ Wallace Backpacks

LOVE LOVE LOVE my MZ Wallace backpack! I have the black one with silver zips and it’s the perfect size. It has a laptop compartment, then a large one that fits my camera, lenses, tablet, and kindle. Then there is a smaller picket that sticks out for little things like lotion, medicine, and other stuff I might need on a flight. I use this for my personal item on flights but it’s so cute (and backpacks are in style now) so I use this even as a purse for long tourist days like walking around London. It’s so nice to have a backpack and I am so thankful they are cool again. Remember when they were cool in like third grade?

Large Fossil Leather Totes

I have too many of these totes. I actually get them at the outlet mall and most I use for weekend trips and as a personal item on flights. They have a ton of different tote styles that you can see on their site here. I listed some of my favorites below.

Fossil Crossbody Bags

You can see all the different crossbody styles here. I like that they show them on the model, so you get a better idea of how big or small they are. My exact one above is sold out, but this one is the most similar. I adore these bags by Fossil and usually get a medium sized one that can fit my camera, phone, a lens, and wallet inside.

Patricia Nash Designs Map Tote

I love the map pring stuff by Patricia Nash. I actually just found this at Macy’s and got the matching leather map sandals. I went a litlte crazy. They have map print umbrellas and all size bags. My tote is this one from Macy’s. There’s also a slightly smaller zip-top style as well. This tote is great for travel as a personal item, is too cute, and everytime I carry it people ask about it! It has a clasp at the top to close it.

Etnika Shop

My epic fringe tote: it’s the bomb. I cannot carry this without people asking about it all the time. I got this in Bali but actually have a smaller black one by the same guy who sells on Etsy, where I orginally bought the black one. This new tote though is my favorite bag of ALL TIME. You can find my exact style here.

Dry Bag for the Beach

When I go on a beach trip to Bali or Sri Lanka,[easyazon_link keywords=”dry bag for beach” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]I take a dry bag[/easyazon_link] which is so amazing. You can sling it over your shoulder and carry it easily and it can double up as a shopping bag. I usually just throw in a sarong, sunscreen, and my GoPro. They roll up to the size of whatever is inside of them. You can take them kayaking or whatever as they way they roll makes them waterproof.

Bonus: Get a Waterproof Bag for the Beach

These are super easy to find on Amazon, and they’re perfect if you’re going to different tropical places! You can use them to either keep your camera and phone dry or to hold your wet bikini. Check out all the styles here, or I’ve put some fun ones below.

For more best of posts:

• What’s the Best Travel Bra? (coming soon)
• Best Bikinis for Travel
• A Chacos Buying Guide
• Best Travel Shoes

What multi purpose travel bags do you recommend?

Pin Best Multipurpose Travel Bags for later!

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I love Malaysia & India… and Malaysia loves Indians. It only takes 10 minutes of watching TV in India to see the many commercials for Malaysia Simply Asia to know how much they value their Indian guests! Of all the countries Indians travel to, Malaysia tops the list! This article shares how to get a visa for Malaysia for Indian citizens. I did deep research for this and also consulted with a visa company to make sure I had all the information up-to-date and correct!

How to Get a Visa for Malaysia for Indian Citizens

Malaysia has made a lot of efforts to simplify the access to Indian tourists. There are mainly two options, which can be a bit confusing, so I will explain both in depth. From what I’ve heard, they often reject applications, not because they want to, but because the images are blurry or the directions were not followed 100% in compliance. 

Two ways for how to get a visa for Malaysia for Indian citizens & how much they cost + an easier way

The first way: Malaysia eNTRI

$20.70

This is a Visa Waiver Program. The Malaysian government is testing this service during 2017 and 2018. Indian nationals need to complete the application online and they can stay for 15 days in the country.

The second way: Malaysia eVisa

$40.70

This is an electronic visa. The process is very similar to the eNTRI, and the main differences are that this option is more expensive but you get a 30-day visa.

First Way: Malaysia eNTRI for Indian citizens details

Since India is part of the Malaysian Visa Waiver Program, Indian nationals can now apply for the eNTRI online. The eNTRI allows Indian travelers to apply online instead of visiting a Malaysian embassy.

The document will be delivered by email and needs to be printed on an A4 sized paper. The traveler then takes the eNTRI paper with them when they travel to Malaysia and will show it at boarding and to immigrations officers upon arrival.

Even though the application is online, we’ve heard from many travelers that the rejection rate is high due to improper form filling. If you want to avoid any issue, you can use iVisa. They offer a zero frustration policy and will help you make the best application. It’s just $25 for them to do this all for you! For the USA/UK they do the same, and it’s what I’ve used in the past for short terms visas like this.

An important restriction to keep in mind is that Indians can apply online from anywhere in the world except for those living in Singapore. With the eNTRI, Indians can stay for a maximum of 15 days inside Malaysia and is valid to be used only once meaning that you must apply every time you plan to travel to Malaysia.

Ad if you arrive by air then you will be required to show proof of a return flight to India, Singapore, Thailand or Brunei. You are also required to have a few documents with you when you arrive in Malaysia, they include: your eNTRI, return flight tickets, proof of sufficient funds, complete travel itinerary and proof of residence in Malaysia (hotel booking, invitation letter to a friend/family home)

Special terms associated with the eNTRI

Indians who have a direct flight from India to Malaysia, or transit via Singapore, Thailand or Brunei by air or land are ONLY permitted to enter and exit Malaysia via the following airports:

1. Kuala Lumpur International Airport , Sepang (KLIA & KLIA 2)

2. Penang International Airport, Pulau Pinang

3. Langkawi International Airport, Kedah

4. Melaka International Airport, Melaka

5. Senai International Airport, Johor

6. Kuching International Airport, Sarawak

7. Miri International Airport, Sarawak

8. Kota Kinabalu International Airport, Sabah

9. Labuan International Airport, Sabah

If the traveller will arrive by land then they can enter/exit Malaysia with the eNTRI via the following 6 entry points:

1. Sultan Iskandar Building Immigration Checkpoint, Johor
2. Sultan Abu Bakar Checkpoint, Johor
3. Padang Besar Checkpoint, Perlis
4. Bukit Kayu Hitam Checkpoint, Kedah
5. Sungai Tujuh Immigration Checkpoint, Sarawak

6. Tedungan Immigration Checkpoint, Sarawak

NOTE: If you want to stay longer than 15 days inside Malaysia AND you will NOT fly in to Malaysia via India, Singapore, Thailand or Brunei then you have to apply for the Malaysian eVisa, NOT the Malaysian eNTRI.

Second way, the Malaysia E-visa

The eVisa to Malaysia is a tourist eVisa that Indians can also apply for online and will be received via email and again you just print this document when you travel to Malaysia.

The eVisa for tourism allows you to stay for a maximum of 30 days inside Malaysia.
Documents that you will need to apply online include; digital passport-sized image of the applicant, a digital scan of your passport main page (the page with all your personal details and photo), proof of your return flight booking, and for minors younger than 18 years – a birth certificate, proof of your accommodation in Malaysia or a invitation letter if you will stay with family/friends.

You can upload all these to the Government website. You can also apply through iVisa which offers a zero frustration policy – they let you apply at any time and then they handle the application when the time is due to ensure you can maximize your time in the country.

Are there any special terms associated with the eVisa?

Although how to get a visa for Malaysia for Indian citizens is pretty simple, it’s not open for everyone. You can only apply for the Malaysia eVisa if you are applying from the following countries (so in case you are reading this and not Indian, now you know!)

China, Taiwan, HK, South Korea, North Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Macau, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives , Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos, Philippines , Thailand, TimorEste, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Australia, Fiji, French, Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Albania, Andorra, Belarus, Bosnia, Croatia, European Union, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey and Alderney, Iceland, New Jersey, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Man, Island of, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Svalbard and Jan Mayen , Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Vatican City State (Holy See), Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland , Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Sri Lanka, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Monserrat, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthelemy, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Virgin Islands (US), Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Falkland Islands, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela, Bermuda, Canada, Greenland, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, USA

I hope this helps for those looking for those wondering how to get a visa for Malaysia for Indian citizens!

I have other visa posts for those looking for how to get a visa to India from the USA and also for those from the UK.

The post Indian Readers: How To Get A Visa for Malaysia For Indian Citizens appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

…Okay, or just like this travel blogger! I recently shared my exact checklist that I use for you to see how to plan a trip from scratch without being stressed. It’s an extensive list that covers all the things you need to do before a trip BUT if you don’t have time for it, I’ve decided to make you a list of how to plan a last-minute getaway.

As a travel blogger, I often go places very last-minute. I only knew about Istanbul about a week before and Finland I knew just two weeks ahead of time! So, I’m pretty good at last-minute planning.

How to Plan a Last Minute Getaway

1. The Destination & Flights

Since its last minute, I would assume that means you’ve been invited somewhere last-minute, therefore, you wouldn’t need to choose a destination. But, if that’s not the case then you need to get this step done and dusted. Just have a 10 minute think about a place you’re dying to go.

But, if that’s not the case then you need to get this step done and dusted. Just have a 10 minute think about a place you’re dying to go. Book on Kiwi where you always get the best deals and save yourself the hassle of doing flight comparison searches.

If you’re on a budget constraint, then use the “anywhere” option on Kiwi.com to see where the cheapest places are you can fly to. When I did a review of their service (not for work, but because I am obsessed with them) I found flights from Ohio to so many places for around $100 roundtrip. It’s wild!

Destination: sorted!

2. The Budget

When you’re going last-minute, sometimes the budget doesn’t do as well as if you can plan ahead. It’s actually my main reason for planning ahead! But not to worry!

There’s no time to save money for this trip, so you can only work with what you’ve got. Normally I would say that you should plan to go off-season, and do a long list of tips I have to save money when you plan your trip, but…

… at times like this, it’s best to just stay calm and spend your hard earning money because that is what money is for. It’s not every day you take a last-minute trip, so just go with the flow.

Budget: forget about it!

3. Paperwork

Do a quick search to see if you need a visa for the country you are going to and if you do just use iVisa expedited services so you can cross that off your list and not worry about it.

Next, click over to World Nomads and get some cheap insurance that can go into effect the very next day. Here’s what they cover and what they don’t.

Make sure your passport has more than two blank pages and that it has at least six months left before it expires.

Paperwork: easy peasy!

4. Packing like a Pro!

Use a quick packing list (I have about a hundred on my blog) instead of your brain so that you don’t have to worry and stress out if you’ve packed everything. You can search my packing category with all my posts or you can just google “packing list for ____” and most likely find one.

Keep in mind if you have your passport, visa, phone, camera, and medications you regularly take then not much else can go THAT wrong. Worst case, for girls, just throw in some sundresses and sandals and call it a day. Guys just need tees and shorts so that’s easy, too.

I made these little graphics in my packing posts as well to make it easier!

5. Don’t forget your hotel & car!

Apps like Overnight give you crazy deals on last-minute hotels. You can also search on my favorite booking site, Agoda, and see what pops up.

I would not suggest booking an Airbnb on a last-minute trip because you don’t know the area. Generally speaking, hotels aren’t going to build up and invest in a shitty area, so you can guess that your hotel is at least in a decent area. With Airbnb, you have to do more research which is time-consuming.

If you need a car you can book that too if you have time, but if not it’s usually not that much more expensive if you just do it at the airport. When I needed a car in Maui,it was around $30 cheaper online, so I just booked it online in front of the girl in the office and got the keys.

6. A little fun planning is all that is left

Realistically, that actually should have taken you a few hours to do. Of course, it would be much less if you are a frequent traveler. You can do everything so quickly online these days!

Now any free time you get before your trip, you can peruse travel blogs and Pinterest to find the best travel tips for your upcoming trip.

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The post How to Plan a Last Minute Getaway Like a Travel Blogger appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

I loved the vibes in this small coastal town in Slovenia. I don’t have many tips to give but still wanted to tell you about this town because not only was it beautiful but Piran, Slovenia surprised me. I actually didn’t know there was a coast in Slovenia before I booked this trip. The coast is tiny (just 46 km long) but they sure do make the most of it. 

Piran, Slovenia

You can’t help but have your camera out at all times in Piran, at least I couldn’t. Everything was so photogenic. I was traveling with my friend, Helen, who is a photographer, and took loads as well. 

I go to Europe every year but usually just Austria and London. Then, there was Finland and Latvia, but overall I don’t get many Europe vibes. So, to be here brought me back in time to Italy and Croatia years ago. It really did look similar and they even have signs in Italian!

The food was delicious. Pasta with truffle, grilled sea bass, and tasty cakes! We never stopped eating. I didn’t see a lot of street food or pizza shops, though. It was mostly sit down restaurants and cafes. 

There was a promenade with all the shops and cafes. It was really windy on one side of the peninsula, then really calm on the other. On the windy side, there were many people out kitesurfing. 

jeans are abercrombie, see similar below

see bag here

see similar dress here

The pretty courtyard above and balcony below were from the Kempinski hotel where I stayed. Technically, it is in PortoRoz which is the village next to Piran. But, they are both such small “beach towns” you can just walk along the beach from one to the next. 

see dress here, shop similar styles below

sees shoes here

see jumpsuit here

The sunset over the sea was gorgeous. We saw a nice couple having drinks with their adorable dog. Helen was deadset on going over to say hello, so we did. I’m usually not that brave to go up to strangers! But, they were so nice and so was their dog, Dexter.

see jacket here

shoes are james smith, see similar here

I loved taking photos here and thought it was a cute town. I’m sorry I don’t have “tips” for you but really it’s so small, you don’t need them. Just wander around, look at how lovely the town is, and eat! 

I don’t know if there are many activities here. If you want a tour here, you can get in touch with Kristina at seca113@yahoo.com. She’s a guide, I met her, and she’s really nice!

Shop the Post:

HAVE YOU BEEN TO PIRAN? If so, leave some tips in the comments!

The post Piran, Slovenia: Don’t Forget To Add The Coast To Your Slovenian Itinerary appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

Welcome back to This is India! I always have funny/weird stories about India to share with friends or family when I talk to them. This is just meant to be an honest portrayal of my life in India through short anecdotes. I also share here what I’ve been up to online outside Hippie in Heels.

What I was up to other than here:

• Travel has been pretty nonstop lately. Finland, Bali, Slovenia… with stretches in Goa in between. But, tomorrow off again to Alanya, Turkey with Ben. We will be there on a trip with the tourism board to see the best of Alanya for 4 days. Then, Ben and I go onward to visit his dad in Austria (he lives in a cute village outside Vienna – I wrote about this here), then Ben and I are taking a vacation to Greece for a week before flying back to India. 
• I asked on my “hippie in heels” Facebook page if people could give me tips on what books to read before I left for Slovenia. They were such good tips! I read [easyazon_link identifier=”1250080401″ locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]The Nightingale[/easyazon_link] and it was incredible! It actually touched on the round up of French Jews by the French police in Paris, which is what the book [easyazon_link identifier=”0312370849″ locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Sarah’s Key[/easyazon_link] was about, which I read earlier this year. Then I read [easyazon_link identifier=”0307341550″ locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Sharp Objects[/easyazon_link], another mystery book by the author of Gone Girl and it was very good, highly recommend it. Next, I read Apple Tree Yard which was about a woman having an affair gone wrong. Now, I’m reading [easyazon_link identifier=”1476738025″ locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]A Man Called Ove[/easyazon_link] which everyone seemed to be raving about. 

Now your story,

Long time, no “this is India”! There are a couple reasons I don’t write these as much. One is that I don’t notice the litte funny things about India as much as I used to. As of May 5th, I’ve lived here for 4 years and been in India traveling since before that – so I’m kind of too used to things. Another reason is because usually when they do happen, it’s someone who I have become close to and I don’t feel right telling the stories in case it seems like I’m making fun of them. 

So, I’m just going to share what’s been going on and a few recent photos of Goa since we are off again. 

This view is from Antares on the Vagator cliff, just next to Thalassa. It’s such a good sunset place. We take friends here for drinks when they come to visit. 

This not so photogenic food below is my favorite Indian meal from Gunpowder…. getting a curry takeaway and watching movies is what we do most nights that we stay in.

This little pup is Chulo and he’s not this small anymore! My friend Jules found this guy on the road and picked him up. He came to lunch with us and she was debating what to do with him… 6 months later, he’s hers! It’s too hard in Goa not to pick up and keep strays. 

dress is from Indian designer Mogra Designs

Ben’s coworkers came to stay for the weekend and I was asking them what they thought was funny about Goa. Bill shared a few pictures with me, that I’ll share with you!

This is how they dry out chilis all over India. They lay them out. This is a tiny batch, usually it takes up the whole driveway. I remember when we had our dog, Huck, and he used to run through them and piss off the Aunties so bad. It was funny but of course, naughty. 

Look closely at the next shot….

Yes, that’s a dude climbing up the tree coconut tree to get down the ripe coconuts. You might have heard before that more people die each year from having a coconut fall on their head than by a shark attack (not sure if it’s true) but it is a real issue. I mean, every restauarnt that has coconut trees has to put nets up to catch them. 

There is a pack of about 10 monkeys that love to hang out at our house and have since I lived here. My parents loved to watch them from our balcony when they had their morning coffee. They do come up really close to us, but they are always reaking havoc so you don’t want them to think it’s okay to come near your house. 

They did once go inside our neighbors house when they left their balcony door open, and you can imagine how that would go down.

That is Bill and Andrew, two of Ben’s coworkers. Andrew has visited often, but it was Bill’s first time in India. We had a really fun weekend! 

Below, is a picture of our pool that the security guard took. I have been floating in the pool before when four have come for a drink. It’s crazy! I wish I knew how to tell a monkey not to drink chlorine haha.

Shanti and Kitkit cuddled up with me early morning before I left for Turkey. It’s like they know! Omni was there, too but I didn’t get a picture of him. If I move too much they wake up and want to go outside. 

I’m actually now writing this at the start of my journey to Turkey. When you have an early AM international flight from Mumbai, it’s tough because you can’t catch a flight from Goa that morning and get there in time, so you have to go the night before. It makes a long airport layover overnight from 12-5 am… not really enough time to go sleep somewhere. 

I have the same early AM Turkish Airlines flight out of Mumbai I took through Istanbul to Slovenia, but this time instead of flying to Mumbai the night before late, and waiting in the airport all night, we came at around 5 pm so we could stay at the JW Marriott next to the airport and wake up already here. It’s honestly so worth doing instead of starting off a journey already exhausted.

If you book enough in advance, you can get rates as low as $150. I just mentally add this to my flight budget so I don’t feel so bad! If you have a travel buddy as well and are splitting the cost it’s even better. Then, since it’s next to the airport you don’t have to bother with traffic to a cheaper hotel further away. In Mumbai, you don’t find cheap airport hotels, anyway. I recenty stayed at a “cheap” one coming back from Slovenia which was still $120 per night (and I slept just 4.5 hours then headed back to the airport).

We ate at Romano, the Italian restaurant in the hotel. Everyone talks about it as the best restaurant in Mumbai and it is actually always listed in the top restaurants on TripAdvisor under basically every category. The restaurant is expensive compared to Goa standards, but all nice restaurants in Bombay are – it’s worth it. 

After stuffing our faces with pork and lamb, pasts and risotto, we passed out! Journey to Alanya — here we go! 

The post This is India! 142 appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

You’ll probably really want to see these reasons to visit Vantaa after hearing that its the small suburb the airport is located, just outside Helsinki.

It’s not on more tourists radar! But like many places that aren’t, they are secret and just as special.

So, after spending two days there exploring, I’ve put together my favorite parts of the town and why you might want to make a trip. There are of course more than three things to see and do in Vantaa, especially for children. But, as most likely, your Finland itinerary will barely allow for time in Vantaa, you definitely will only want the best of the best things to do.

3 Unique Reasons to Visit Vantaa

There’s actually a museum here too, that focuses on performances and graffiti style art, but it was closed when we arrived. It’s called Artsi and the entrance is free. I’m not sure why it was closed, so you could ask your hotel to call them and check for you.

Literally getting like NO air in this pic. This was our group in Vantaa from the Nordic Bloggers Experience and they were such a fun group of girls! One of them took this photo on their camera but I don’t remember who.

Silvia from HeartMyBackpack shared about her time here in Vantaa, too! She’s the coolest and lives in Norway.. you’ll love her blog.

2. Jumping in FREEZING cold Lake Kuusijärvi

You guys, it’s utter nonsense.

LIKE WHY!? I’ll explain…

Finnish people are obsessed with saunas. I think they invented them! There are a crazy amount of saunas in Finland.

“The Finnish sauna is a substantial part of Finnish culture. There are five million inhabitants and over three million saunas in Finland – an average of one per household. For Finnish people the sauna is a place to relax with friends and family, and a place for physical and mental relaxation as well. Finns think of saunas not as a luxury, but as a necessity.” –Wiki

So the thing is after they sauna (and yes, they use it as a verb sometimes!), they are SO hot they run and jump into an ice lake to get the blood flowing and say it’s very good for your health.

The saunas are not like the type you see at hotels around the world. They are smoke saunas and actually, the one we first tried at Lake Kuusijärvi was so unbearably hot and smoky every single one of us had to leave it within 30 seconds. It’s unreal how hot these things are.

They had a normal sauna and we sat in there until we couldn’t take it any longer. Contrary to popular belief everyone isn’t totally naked, although some women go topless and men and women are separated.

I jumped in the lake. I thought eh, everyone is doing it, it can’t be that bad. Well, it was. The girls made a video and everyone is like “ohh, it was amazzzinng. I feel so fresh. It isn’t even cold after the sauna!” I’m like “F*ck this *#*$ *#*$&$&@*@($*$*” fill in the blanks with loads of curse words.

It was like pins and needles and I got out pretty quick to take a hot shower. Woah! It was crazy!

The area is very “local” and not touristy which makes it pretty cool. The lake is frozen so we also went for a nice walk on it. We had lunch here as well (which was decent, but nothing to write home about… except the donut.. that donut was the bomb).

3. Acting Like Kids at a Chocolate Factory

So, Fazer chocolate is the most famous chocolate in Finland and it’s made in Vantaa! You can go tour the factory and also do a chocolate tasting.

To be honest, the chocolate tasting was kind of common sense. I’m not interested in where my food comes from (I eat Indian McDonald’s chicken, guys) so it’s a lot of information if you’re not into that.

But, you can take what you want so if you’re not down with learning about where your chocolates come from, just go for the cafe which serves up awesome chocolatey dishes and coffees. Finnish people drink more coffee than any other nationality, so they say.

It was definitely like being a kid in a candy shop, well 100% like that, except everything was free! YUM! And no, not just for us bloggers. It’s free little chocolates all over and full size candy bars for people who come in to tour. We ate way too much chocolate.

So the best ones are the Fazermints (I bought two bags at the airport in Oulu before even coming to the factory), the gingerbread chocolates, and the 70% dark chocolate.

Things you need to know to visit Vantaa

I stayed at Flamingo Spa. It was great for people who have layovers and had a good view. Rooms were huge and I slept well. The spa in the evening was more of a party place (they serve alcohol) but the girls went in the am (I slept in) and said it was much more relaxing then.

For lunch near the train station, we ate at Wandas. I had a pizza and burger that I split with Silvia. I literally love when people want to split two things so you can order both the things you want! There was Finnish food too – but this was the end of my trip and I wanted something different.

You can get here via the train but we took Tixi Travel as we were a larger group of around 6 people.

Wanda’s burger

While a juicy burger is always enough to get me to a new location, I hope you’ll like these unique reasons to visit Vantaa.

Yeah, it’s a suburb, and I get that you have priorities. 

While it’s an awesome vibe, there is a LOT to see in Helsinki and Finland in general. You’ll want at least two weeks in Finland, and maybe try to visit Helsinki for just three of those days. My 10 days was not long enough. If you do two weeks, you can easily just spend your last day before you fly out in Vantaa, which is where the airport is located. If you don’t have enough time, then you might want to look for a local sauna/ice lake somewhere else!

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I have made so many mistakes in my travels! I try not to, but I have been traveling Internationally for around 8 years and to nearly 40 countries so you’re bound to make some mistakes. I mean, even on my third trip to Thailand, I went to the wrong airport in Bangkok when I was leaving. Woops! So, I wanted to share some mistakes travelers make and how you can AVOID them.

Mistakes Travelers Make (& how to avoid them)

1. Having crazy high expectations

You’re going traveling. It’s going to have its ups and downs and it can be stressful. Maybe your travel companion will drive you bonkers. Maybe you will be hoping to have a life-changing experience and be constantly looking for it (Eat, Pray, Love style). 

Maybe you’ll try to act like a “traveler” and not really be yourself hoping to become someone you’re not.

I’ve written before about how you need to BE yourself to “find yourself” when you travel. Sometimes travel can be life-changing, but sometimes it’s just cocktails on the beach with an incredible sunset!

2. Spending all your time stressing out about logistics and money

It’s easy to get caught up in counting pennies. You’ll be spending a lot more daily when you travel than you would at home. Hotels and food every day plus all the fun travel things.

This is why you budget for a trip; so that you don’t have to stress about it later.

Plan ahead! Download travel apps to help you with maps and transportation. Be a little prepared so that you can totally let loose and relax on your trip.

You KNOW you’ll be spending money when you travel, so no use in worrying about it while the inevitable is happening.

3. Winging it when you are not an easy-going person

I am super Type A but I do love the idea of “winging it” on a trip. When you have a good amount of money to blow and time on your hands, this is okay. But, if you’re on a tight budget and not a “go with the flow” type of person at home, you’re most certainly not going to become that type of person when you travel.

I actually wrote a post on how to travel without planning.

If you are not super easy-going, have a travel plan!

4. Being an introvert and not making new acquaintances

It’s okay to be a loner. I’m not the type to go up and talk to strangers either. But… when traveling you should try to break out of your shell a little bit. Sometimes the people you meet are what make your travels so incredible. Actually, that is usually the case!

In hostels, you can meet people. You can use apps to meet people. You can do drop in yoga, cooking classes, or other classes to meet people.

You won’t want to enjoy the nightlife alone and the nightlife is always a big part of travels so it’s good to make buddies to go out with.

5. Not having any cultural experiences

You can just go from city to city and stay in a hotel, eat at the hotel, go to the hotel spa, and fly back home… but what kind of vacation is that!?

You should get out in the thick of things! Meet locals! Do things that seem touristy if they help you understand the culture. I met the tribals in Ziro Valley (epic cultural experience) and went to a luau in Maui (touristy cultural experience) but they were both memorable and I had a great time at both.

There’s no reason you can’t find a cultural experience anywhere that you travel!

6. Being too stingy to splurge on adventure or spa activities

Go big or go home! Just kidding, sort of.

When I think of Uganda, I think of Bungee Jumping.

When I think of Interlaken, I think of canyoning in the Alps.

When I think of Finland, I think of dog sledding.

So many incredible memories are from splurging out on the most amazing adventure activities on offer in these beautiful travel destinations.

I personally love spas so I like to try unique spa experiences when I travel and those don’t come cheap. Hamams in Istanbul, Ayurveda in India, and Lomi-lomi in Hawaii all come to mind as memorable!

Give yourself some wiggle room or use a credit card because you might not make it back to these places and you will regret not having these epic experiences.

7. Packing like you’re going to outer space

You can buy much of what you *might* need while you’re traveling so you don’t need to take so much “just in case” stuff.

Take what you need.

Take clothes you actually like and would wear at home. You want to be comfortable and feel like yourself while you travel.

You can take some band aids and such, but don’t go overboard on things like medical kits and other “travel” necessities you see in that isle of Wal-Mart. You don’t need most of it!

8. Trying to do too much

This is pretty self-explanatory, but if you try to do too much and add too much on your itinerary, then you’re going to burn out. You’ll be tired and stressed and that’s no way to spend your holiday.

9. Not being practical and forgetting to buy travel insurance

It’s a risk you don’t want to take. I use it when I travel outside India but as I’m in India for such long stretches normal travel insurance doesn’t work for me here. I use World Nomads and have always recommended it on the blog.

You can see everything they cover here and some tips on what to consider before buying.

10. Not booking enough time between flights or other flight mistakes

This is a more technical issue.

When you book flights, often flight hacking sites will urge you to separate your journey into smaller flights to save money. But, this can lead to you accidentally booking your flights with too little time between layovers. If you miss a flight, then you’ll be totally screwed as you booked separately therefore, the next airline won’t have any legal reason to help you get on a new flight.

This is one of the reasons I book with Kiwi. They search each leg separately but offer a guarantee that if you miss a flight, they’ll put you on the next one for free. (review for kiwi here)

You’ll also want to check that you are leaving for the same airport you land in during a layover. Often in Paris or London websites will book you with an “airport change” and that can be a huge hassle; one that I always avoid.

I hope you can avoid these 10 common mistakes travelers make! You can also check out my post “Advice I Dish Out But Can’t Seem to Follow Myself!“

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The post 10 Mistakes Travelers Make & How to Avoid Them appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

If you want to explore the “Arctic” then Finnish Lapland is the region you’ll probably end up looking at. Oulu is the gateway to the Lapland region and is an hour flight North of the capital of Finland, Helsinki. There are so many adventures to be had in Oulu and just near it, that you’ll have a hard time deciding what to do. Here are some options and a little guide to Oulu, including where to stay in Oulu.

5 Adventures in Oulu

1. Searching for the Northen Lights on a Snow Mobile

We went searching, knowing that chances were pretty much zero to see the aurora borealis (Northern Lights). They are possible to be seen in September through March, and it’s almost a guarantee you will see them in the far North of Lapland, but where we were in Oulu it’s more up to chance if the sky is clear. This post explains better where to see the Northern Lights in Europe.

Regardless, snowmobiling was a BLAST. If you like jet-skiing, this is like 100x better and you’re going to love it. The paths were quite small and you don’t want to hit a tree so you have to be careful.

I didn’t really ever think about how a snowmobile worked, but it is actually on two skis so you have to think about how those could bounce around if you get off the path! It does take some muscle to drive and it isn’t as easy as it looks. We went about 35 km per hour which felt SO fast. I wouldn’t have gone any faster for fear of wrecking.

We did this through the safari options at Hotel Iso Syote.

2.  Dog Sledding with Siberian Huskies

I loved sledding with the huskies. It was by far my favorite thing to do in Oulu and Lappish Finland. I can’t recommend this enough and the huskies were SO excited to pull the sleds. It was a perfect day.

• See my whole article about how you can dog sled in Finland, too.

3. Visiting a Reindeer Farm & Riding in the Sleigh

Reindeer are so cute! It’s kind of strange because you will eat a lot of reindeer while you’re in Finland and also pet them… but, it’s a don’t miss. I mean it feels like Christmas which I think must release endorphins like exercise (lol jk) so it’s pretty much the best thing ever.

• See my whole article about how you can reindeer sled, too!

4. Snowboarding and Skiing in Syöte

I grew up snowboarding and skiing and lived just 15 minutes from slopes so was there all winter long with my friends. There were a couple injuries trying to do the same things my brother and his friends did, and it was just the coolest thing to get to snowboard all the time! I feel so bad for people who didn’t have a winter growing up! playing in the snow is the best.

The town of Syöte has two “fells”, or hills, that you can ski at. Iso-Syöte or Pikku-Syöte which are right near each other. They also happen to be beautiful regions with amazing lodging at them. We stayed at Iso-Syöte lodge.

The Iso-Syöte lodge has a variety of rooms like cabins for families, fancy rooms like the photo below that have glass windows looking out to the view of the Northern Lights, and rooms that looks like normal hotel rooms. The rooms were wonderful and designed so well. Super cozy! Also, breakfast and dinner in the lodge is really tasty and served buffet style.

5. Ice Fish at Nallikari Beach

Come to this beach in the summer and you can build sand castles and swim, but come in the winter and it’s frozen literally to Sweden.

It’s so frozen that you can drive your car or truck across it and there are set speed limits; they actually open it as a road for fisherman.

You can ice fish, ice skate, snowshoe, and many other things out by the lake. We walked out to explore then had a little bonfire to warm up. You can imagine that with the wind near the sea, it’s VERY cold. We changed into snow jumpsuits to stay warm. It was totally necessary. This was our first night in Oulu and we spent time sledding and playing in the snow!

More Adventures in Oulu and Tips for Oulu, Finland

There are even more adventures in Oulu to be had if you have the time. One thing I really wanted to so was ice-climb but we didn’t have time. I also wanted to visit those glass igloo hotels you always see on Pinterest, but they are about a four-hour drive North and we only had a couple days in Oulu. It’s a good reason to come back.

If you want to see these gorgeous snow covered trees, then Syöte fell is the area you have to check out! I was amazed by how pretty it was. When you get up close to the trees, there is actually like 8 inches of snow on each branch, frozen.

In Oulu town, the actual center of town, where you’ll fly in, there is a new hotel called Lapland Hotel.

The hotel was wonderful and the food there was super tasty! The breakfast was HUGE. Finnish people seem really into big breakfasts and small lunches, so keep that in mind if you join a tour and eat up when you wake up.

The hotel is walking distance to the center of town and near all the best restaurants. Really, the whole town of Oulu is walkable and they actually have a car garage underground. They are trying to make it a carless city.

Take time to eat at Sokeri-Jussin Kievari restaurant in Oulu town.

Of course, we had reindeer. I ate so much reindeer in Finland! It was all so tasty. My favorite things to eat here were the cloudberry jam (and they served a cloudberry ice cream here!) and the rye bread with butter than was served at almost every meal we had.

We also tried their local booze. I always think it’s hilarious when locals of every country introduce their local booze (moonshine of sorts) and tell you how good it is for the health! It was the same story in Turkey or Greece! haha, they basically always force you to take a shot. This was was smokey tasting and I cannot for the life of me remember the name. If you know, leave a comment.

This photo below shows you what Oulu city center looks like. It’s a small town and this little fat man is a statue in the center of town. He’s a policeman and kind of their logo.

The town is pretty empty I have to say! I didn’t see many people walking around… like 10!

It gets dark at 3 pm so it’s hard to get out, I guess. I went to bed early but the others stayed out at a bar and playing bingo. Random!

Overall, Oulu is a cute little town and the gateway to get to to the Finnish Lapland where all your adventures are going to start! Luckily, the adventures I’ve shared here are just outside Oulu and just require a 1-2 hour drive to see them all. If you want to see the Northern Lights, and you don’t want to chance it, you’ll want to move about four hours further North.

Pin adventures in Oulu for later:

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