Looking for unique things to do in Charleston? Check out this guide below!

Whether you live in Charleston or it’s your first time visiting the beautiful coastal city, there are tons of ways to pass the time. Charleston is one of the South’s many coastal cities where doing nothing but enjoying sitting on a porch with an ice-cold beverage in the sunshine is totally a worthwhile way to see the city.

That’s certainly how my friends and I enjoy spending some time when I visit them in their beautiful hometown. Eventually, we head out to find a comfortable patio at a bar or restaurant to catch up as the day wears on. Though the highlight reel like shopping along King Street or visiting the Angel oak tree is essential to any first visit, there are some lesser-known unique things to do in Charleston. From chowing down on local seafood to walking through the quiet Lowcountry landscapes, these Holy City activities are both classic and authentic. By the time you’re done, you’ll feel like a local yourself. 

6 Unique Things to Do in Charleston, SC

1. Find an oyster roast

While any kind seafood is always delicious in Charleston, the city is well-known for its oysters. You can enjoy them any time of the year at the city’s restaurants. However, if you are lucky enough to find yourself in the city during the winter months, try to find an oyster roast to attend. Similar to a Lowcountry boil spilled out over newspaper on the tabletop, attending an oyster roast is as close to experiencing Charleston’s seafood culture as you can get without throwing your own oyster roast or joining the harvest for a day. Between November and February, oyster roasts take place as events as well as at local restaurants. Even those who do not enjoy seafood will find these lively social gatherings filled with live music and cold beer to be great fun. As a vegetarian, I still love attending an oyster roast because the simple yet congenial scene of music and cold drinks to close out a sunny day among friends couldn’t get any better.  

2. Take a Gullah-Geechee tour

The Gullah-Geechee people are the direct descendants of the slaves who were forcibly brough to the shores of South Carolina. While it’s still possible to tour the plantations in and around Charleston, a Gullah-Geechee tour is a far more interesting historical account from a different perspective. The tour guide, Godfrey, is a Gullah historian who lends insight to the ancient culture and history of the Gullah-Geechee. The authentic tours are educational and well worth taking to understand Charleston’s history.

3. Visit Charleston City Market

The Charleston City Market dates to the 1790s and is part of the city’s historic district. Today, the market is a hub for local artists who made certified authentic Charleston goods. There are vendors both during the Day Market and the Night Market, which takes place on Fridays and Saturdays, so it’s worth strolling through more than once. Even when the market is closed, walking through the green, empty stalls of the market at night on the way back to your hotel can be thrilling. To me, it’s like strolling through time and history. Though there are all kinds of art ranging from sculptures to paintings, the item of note that brings most people to the market are the sweetgrass baskets. 

Sweetgrass baskets have been a signature item in Charleston for more than 300 years. They were first made for the rice harvest on plantations, but now there are 50 resident Gullah artists who weave the bulrush marshgrass into mesmerizing designs. Some are even held in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. 

4. Explore the landscape by foot

While the pastel town houses of Charleston are something to see, the natural landscape of the Lowcountry is stunning and worth seeking out. Though many opt to walk, run, or ride a rental bike over the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge to see beautiful views of the city, you can also get out of town to more easily get in touch with nature. While I love cycling over the bridge, it’s also nice to get out and away from the crowds. That’s why visiting the outlying parks and forests surrounding Charleston are well worth the trip. 

There are beautiful stretches of water and Lowcountry pine forests in the parks that surround Charleston such as Palmetto Islands Park. However, Francis Marion and Sumter National Forest provides ample nature trails.

5. Enjoy a beach day 

Few things are better than enjoying a beach day on Folly Island. It’s a local favorite thanks to its wide, expansive beaches. Take a chair and kick back with a cooler of snacks and drinks. The waves accessible by the beach at the end of Ashley Avenue, known as “the Washout,” are perfect for surfing if you prefer to get active. Paddleboarding the waterways is also possible. 

Personally, there’s a spin on a day at the beach that I love. While it’s possible to rent a kayak during the day, turning a beach day into a beach night can be so much fun. I like taking a full moon kayak tour for an unusual twist to your time at the beach and on the water. It’s a great way to round out a sun-filled day. Plan ahead if you plan to book a tour instead of simply rent a kayak or paddleboard for self-guided time on the water during the day (or night)!

6. Visit Dock Street Theatre

Dock Street Theatre was built and opened in 1809 making it a stunning historic venue in the French Quarter. The intimate setting provides a wonderful experience for the audience, though the architecture itself is reason enough to visit. The elegant theatre is outfitted with impressive woodcarvings, wrought iron, and a cobblestone courtyard. 

Those seeking entertainment will likely love anything that is being presented with performances ranging from musicals to dramas. Check their website in advance for tickets to ensure you can attend a performance on the night that you prefer. There are also other events such as educational programs for kids and wine fundraisers that benefit both the theatre and local wine shops. 

Anything you’d add to this list of unique things to do in Charleston? Let us know below!

For more Southern US Travel:

• The Perfect 3 Day New Orleans Itinerary
• 12 Things To Do in Savannah for Couples
• Top Things to do in Ocala Florida (and Nearby)

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Molly Harris is a freelance travel and food journalist. She loves finding the best local joints as much as she enjoys hiking and cycling. You can follow her on Instagram to keep up with her travels through the American South and Europe.

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Welcome to our interview with Alexandra Baackes, the blogger behind Alex in Wanderland and founder of Wander Women Retreats! 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.

Ask any female travel blogger today who first introduced her to this world, one of the few names you’re almost guaranteed to hear is Alex in Wanderland. Alex started her blog way back in 2011 to begin documenting what she calls her great escape from a conventional lifestyle. Fast forward to nearly a decade later, and she’s gone from a brand new graduate with a one-way ticket abroad to running her very popular Wander Women retreats and writing deeply personal posts to her thousands of loyal readers.

A Guidebook Aficionado

If there was any indication that Alex was born to not only travel but help others travel, it was her curious guidebook addiction from a young age.

Sure, her family traveled a bit. She remembers plenty of pilgrimages to Florida and Illinois for extended family. Not to mention annual summer vacations in Martha’s Vineyard. She even had two special trips abroad: one a multi-generational trip to Spain to visit a cousin studying abroad and a family getaway to Belize.

However, how many kids do you know choose to take out guidebooks from the library? This is exactly what Alex did, and she even took it a step further. Not only did she pour over these guidebooks, she would, in her own words, “…plan the most elaborate trips to countries that I had absolutely zero immediate plans to go to. I’m pretty sure I had detailed plans for a trip to Brazil in high school – a trip I didn’t take until more than ten years later!”

She can even remember finding her very first travel blog, a sited called Thirteen Months. “[It was] about a recently married couple taking thirteen months to do a round-the-world trip –[I was] totally gobsmacked. I remember showing it to my mom and us looking through the pages, marveling at their adventures. Thirteen months to travel?! I was so eager to see the world. I wish I could go back and tell myself girl, you’ve got years of adventure ahead of you.”

Getting her PADI cert in 2009

Her First Adventure

Alex finally got to put her years of trip planning practice to use when she embarked on a backpacking trip at nineteen to Thailand, Cambodia, and, to her parents’ horror, Malaysia, a spontaneous decision made after meeting a dive instructor on her travels.

“I landed in Bangkok airport in the middle of the night without the address of where I was going, no way to use my phone internationally, and a growing suspicion that I was indeed still in need of adult supervision. The next morning, despite having read all the warnings, I encountered countless scammers and wondered if maybe they were right, the Grand Palace really was closed that day? (Hint: it was not. The Grand Palace is never closed.) I essentially had zero concept of what was going on at any time and walked around like one big heart-eyed emoji, totally smitten with the world.”

And if you really want to get a taste of what travel was like in 2009, it’s this description of how she figured out what to do and where to go next: “After much debate I brought my Blackberry on the trip, but had no computer and would instead head to internet cafes to send emails, update my blog, and plan my onward travels. I had a heavily highlighted Lonely Planet and pretty much used that and the advice of fellow travelers to get around.”

Alex still remembers that first trip with fondness. “I’m jealous when I meet people just taking off on their first big trip. I wish I could go back and capture that feeling, because while travel is always incredible, that first big solo adventure is just intoxicating.”

The Great Escape

Of course, it’s no surprise that this first adventure would be far from her last. Once she finished getting her arts degree, she was off only a month later to see more of the world. She returned to Thailand, specifically Koh Tao, an island she called home for most of the last decade and still calls her back each year.

To fund her travels, she worked all sorts of odd jobs from underwater videography, bartending, flyering, design work, babysitting, and more. “If there was a job I was marginally qualified for, I was up for the adventure!” It was during her time in Thailand that she also met Rachel for the first time at TBEX Asia in Bangkok and their friendship began.

Much of 2011 through 2018 passed in a busy, Wanderland-worthy blur as Alex began to explore the world she’d spent her childhood planning to see. Whether it was “bouncing around the banana pancake trail in Southeast Asia” or backpacking through Latin and Central America, she always came home to Koh Tao where she had a tight knit community and, eventually, a pup named Prada.

All the while she journaled her adventures on her blog, growing a legion of dedicated readers invested in the trips and personal tales of someone who truly seemed to be living the dream. She was even able to invite some of them into her world in 2018 when she launched her very first Wander Women retreat on Koh Tao. It would be a week-long trip that involved scuba diving, yoga, and sisterhood, three things that arguably have as much a place in her heart as travel these days. The retreat wound being so successful, she decided to make it a yearly offering.

A Pause to the Dream

Of course, not everyone can live the dream all the time, and sometimes life hands us the bitterest of lemons. It all began in 2018 when she returned home to Albany and slowly realized something wasn’t quite right with her mom. Only a few weeks later, her mom was being airlifted off of Martha’s Vineyard, and they were in the hospital with the devastating diagnosis of aggressive terminal brain cancer. 

Suddenly this short trip home became an indefinite move back to Albany, a city she’d said goodbye to a lifetime ago. She went from eternal summer to northern New York winter and instead of jetting off to new destinations each month, she found herself at home caring for the woman who once cared for her.

The next year was spent learning just how overwhelming caretaking is, both emotionally and physically, while also beginning to put the pieces of her life back together. She tried her best to turn her bitter lemons into lemonade as she planned for trips around Albany and the Northeast with the same process she once spent planning exotic vacations. In her day to day, she found solace in her nearby aerial arts studio, discovering yet another passion that would find its way into her retreats.

2019 would continue to throw as many punches as it could between Rachel’s passing, Prada’s death the very weekend after Rachel’s memorial, a break-up with her longterm boyfriend, and losing another friend just as the year was coming to a close. Perhaps the biggest gut punch, though, was the death of her mother right when she returned from running back to back retreats in Egypt.

Wander Women Retreats

Throughout it all, the one thing that has gotten her through was falling in love with a business venture she didn’t realize could very well become her life’s work. Even when she felt like her blog was at a standstill, she was still able to plan and hold a number of retreats since that very first one on Koh Tao.

“Wander Women Retreats kind of snuck up on me. I thought I’d experiment with running a retreat… I wasn’t even sure if I’d enjoy it, let alone if it would be a viable venture! Turns out, it’s my calling and nothing has inspired me more.”

Since that first retreat in Koh Tao, she’s held retreats in Martha’s Vineyard, St. Pete, Florida, Dahab, Egypt, and Cabarete, Dominican Republic. She’s currently in Thailand for her annual Koh Tao retreat, and this year will take members to Israel, Key Largo, back to Dahab, Lebanon and more. Each of the retreats combines the passions she’s fostered over the years as they all include some mixture of scuba diving, yoga, aerial arts, sustainability, and, of course, travel.

With the kind of attention and heart Alex has always poured into her blog, she’s poured into her retreats, which she hopes are incredible experiences that foster lifetime friendships. Not only can you see it in the way she begins to plan for a new location, tackling every last logistical detail, but if you ever manage to join one of them, you can feel it in the instant camaraderie and pure fun her members have.

These days, it feels like she’s reached the end of the very long, dark tunnel and is enjoying her thirties with the same wandering excitement of her twenties. Only now, it’s the Middle East that’s calling her name as Jordan, the UAE, Oman, and Qatar are next in her queue of adventures.

Quick Takes with Alex

On her travel inspiration…

Rachel and I shared a deep, almost spiritual love for the song “Wide Open Spaces” by the Dixie Chicks. There have been times I’ve felt intimidated by a trip or unsure of my path, and it sounds silly but throwing my headphones on and listening to those lyrics somehow reminds me I’m exactly where I need to be, heading off on exactly the adventure the universe has planned for me.

On places that feel like home…

I’ve always had a thing for islands. Koh Tao, of course, is my home away from home and wherever I go and whatever I do, when I’m not on those eight square miles, I have a Koh Tao shaped hole in my heart. I absolutely love running my annual retreat here.

Stateside, Martha’s Vineyard is a place that I will always feel deeply connected to. My mom bought a house there several years ago that she and her partner lovingly renovated into a  home for our family, and which has become even more sacred to me since she passed away this year. It’s a place I feel close to her, and I look forward to a lifetime of memories there.

On where she’d return in a heartbeat…

I think I’d return more to a time. Losing my mom this year has made our trips together my most cherished memories. I’m so, so grateful for them. We took an incredible trip to Greece and Turkey for my graduation and years later she, my sister and I went to Iceland. Later still the three of us went to Belize with my cousin. I’d give anything to go back to those moments and treasure them even more, knowing how fleeting they were.

On something from home she always craves…

Back in my hometown of Albany I still drive the 2004 Honda Pilot that I learned to drive on. Anyone who has been in that car will laugh when I say I think of it fondly, often! I don’t miss much about the suburbs but sometimes simply getting from point a to point b can be such a nightmare on the road, I can’t help but think how easy it is to throw everything in my huge tank of a car and just hit the road! I don’t give a rip about fancy cars but I’m extremely nostalgic. I will be heartsick when it finally goes to SUV heaven.

On a travel product she swears by…

Packing cubes! I live in chaos and these are the one thing that keeps my suitcase (ugh, I’m a grown up now) from being as disorganized as my mind.

Thanks so much to Alex for sharing your story! Be sure to follow her adventures on Alex in Wanderland, @alexinwanderland, @wanderwomenretreats, and on Facebook!

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Have you ever been to a place that kept pulling you back? You visit again and again and never get sick of it. It constantly shows you new things, there are new surprises, and you uncover something else you love about it with each visit?

One of those places for me is Oregon. I will be honest—I accidentally fell in love with Oregon. I’ve always been more fascinated with places outside of the US. Traveling the US was reserved for when I was old and gray and couldn’t do long haul flights anymore. Then I met my boyfriend, an Oregonian, and I fell in love. Twice. With him and his State.

Being from Florida, when I thought of Oregon, I thought of crappy gloomy weather and that’s about it. But there’s so much more now that I’ve spent three summers in a row visiting, with more visits planned each year (van life road trip is coming up soon!).

We explore Oregon for a few months each year and are blown away by the beauty and adventure each time. We love the State so much, we started an Oregon adventure website to share everything we do with anyone else wanting to visit. Gloomy ‘ol Portland doesn’t even scratch the surface when thinking about visiting!

So let’s get down to one of the incredible things on offer here, Oregon waterfalls! I mean, who doesn’t love a good waterfall, right?

Here are some of our favorite waterfalls to visit in Oregon, all of them requiring a bit of a hike to get to. So grab your hiking shoes, a bottle of water, and maybe a raincoat too, and let’s go!

Best Waterfalls in Oregon Near Portland

Portland is a great place to base yourself for exploring the Mount Hood, Bagby Springs, and Columbia River Gorge area. There are a million places to stay and you’ll be in the thick of it in one of the country’s weirdest cities. Despite being a megacity, there are tons of opportunities to immerse yourself in nature and hike around Portland.

It has everything from grungy hostels to luxury hotels.

BUT there are also much cooler places just outside of Portland that offers a better location in terms of being closer to the waterfalls and other natural spots the State offers.

A cool and quirky place we stayed in was in a yurt at the base of Mount Hood. Camping is also a great option, it’s so much cheaper and you won’t have to be driving in and out of the city every day. Check availability here

Note: Before exploring any of the waterfalls and trails in the Columbia River Gorge, it’s important you check the status of the trails. There was a tragic fire in 2017 and the area has yet to fully recover. You can check for trail info here. The hikes below were open at the time of writing but there may be detours and side paths that have not reopened yet.

1. Wahkeena Falls To Multnomah Falls

• Distance: 8 miles
• Type of hike: Loop
• Difficulty: Hard

I know most people reading will have heard of Multnomah, and while it’s on EVERYONE’s list, and is beautiful, how about taking it a bit further and getting away from the crowd? If that’s more your thing, then head up the trails at Multnomah, weaving in and out of the hoards that visit this waterfall.

After a few minutes, the crowds start to thin out and before you know it, the only thing you can hear is Mother Nature. I’d suggest downloading Maps.Me or Alltrails for this trail as there are many detours and side paths and things can get confusing fast. Wahkeena, Fairy Falls, Ecola Falls, and many more waterfalls will be along this trail, so you’ll literally be chasing waterfalls for around eight miles.

2. Dry Creek Falls

• Distance: 4.4 miles
• Type of hike: Out and back
• Difficulty: Easy

While the name does not drum up any excitement, this is actually a great waterfall in Oregon for two reasons—It’s beautiful and not as popular as many of the others along the Columbia River Gorge.

There are a few steep spots here and there but otherwise, the trail is quite easy. You’ll see some remanence of the forest fires here, burnt up stumps and ghostly rows of naked tree trunks, but the trail itself is safe. Eventually, you’ll turn the corner and see Dry Creek Falls gushing over a basalt cliffside.

3. Tamanawas Falls

• Distance: 3.2 miles
• Type of hike: Out and Back
• Difficulty: Moderate

This is one of the coolest waterfalls near Mount Hood and one of our favorites. After scampering through a forest, then climbing around some rocks, you’ll finally come around a bend, and see Tamanawas Falls in the distance.

The hike is rated as moderate but it’s really not that bad, I saw kids on this hike, so don’t be intimidated; it’s surely worth a visit. There are gorgeous wildflowers depending on what time of the year you come at the base of the falls.

If you want to get a bit closer, you can climb behind the waterfalls using the rocks to the right of the falls. You’ll get a bit wet but it’s very cool!

Note: Nottingham Campgrounds is a favorite campsite of ours and it’s down the road from Tamanwas Falls. Your tent will be set along a stream and you’ll get your own fire pit and picnic table.

Best Waterfalls in Oregon Near Bend

We love Bend. It’s actually where we are based when we are in Oregon. And seriously, without bias, it’s the best (OK fine, I’m sure there’s some bias there). This gorgeous city is surrounded by mountains and beauty and couldn’t be better located for adventure lovers.

As mentioned with Portland, there are some really perfectly located campgrounds in Bend, and if you’re up for it, looking to save a few bucks, and don’t want to drive back and forth, then camping is the answer.

4. Tumalo Falls

• Distance: 6.5 miles
• Type of hike: Out and Back
• Difficulty: Moderate

Here’s a favorite waterfall in Oregon for anyone visiting Bend, and I have a little secret too.

You can cheat. But we suggest you don’t!

This waterfall can be seen from the parking lot. Well, at least the main waterfall can. There’s a viewing platform a whole three steps away from where you parked your car. Many people come here, snap a pic and leave. No judgments here, but if you make the drive out here (part of which is on a dirt road), then why not explore a bit more?

There’s a very faint trail that takes you directly up and close to the waterfall, another that takes you to the top, and then continuing along Tumalo Falls path will bring you to a few smaller waterfalls along the way.

Note: You share this path with bikers.

5. Toketee Falls

• Distance: .8 miles
• Type of hike: Out and Back
• Difficulty: Easy

This one is just too easy and the reward is great. About a half a mile down a dirt path, you’ll be greeted with one of the prettiest and most famous waterfalls in Oregon, Toketee.

It’s a great one to visit but the vibe is ruined just a tad. There’s a viewing platform to the side of the falls—I usually prefer everything to be “fully in nature” but it’s a busy spot so they had to put the platform in. It’s definitely still worth a visit though. This one is the furthest from Bend, so maybe hit this one up on the way south towards Umpqua National Park (which has even more waterfalls to see).

Note: You’ll see many gorgeous pictures of this waterfall with a “head on” frame. Please don’t do this. This picture requires you to jump a fence and climb down sketchy rocks—not only is it prohibited but people have died doing it.

6. Koosah and Sahalie Falls

• Distance: 2.2 miles
• Type of hike: Easy
• Difficulty: Loop

Two for one, isn’t that always a great thing?

And if you’re in a rush, there’s a way to cheat at this waterfall too. Both waterfalls have parking lots very close to each of the falls. You could hop out, take a look, drive to the next one, and hop out again. But that isn’t as much fun! So if you’re looking to stretch your legs, do the full two-mile loop.

7. Proxy Falls

• Distance: 1.6 miles
• Type of hike: Loop
• Difficulty: Easy

Ah, the best for last! Well, at least for me that is. This waterfall in Oregon is a photographer’s dream. Dreamy cascading water, a perfectly placed log that lays in front of the falls, verdant foliage adorning the rocks… Like, what else do you want?

Oh, and it’s less than a mile through a cool volcanic rock forest? If there’s one waterfall to go to in Oregon, Proxy Falls is it. Don’t expect to get this place to yourself though, it’s no secret.

Tips for Chasing Waterfalls in Oregon

• Make sure you wear proper hiking shoes.
• The shoulder season is a winner! Most gorgeous waterfalls in Oregon are not a secret by any means and summers mean a lot of people.
• You’ll need a car to get around. That goes for pretty much anywhere in the US really. Check Sixt for rental options.
• Some waterfalls require a Northwest Pass ($30) or a $5 day pass. More info here.
• Portland and Bend are great spots to base yourself in for doing almost anything in the State but the campgrounds in Oregon often are in INCREDIBLE locations and can mean you spend less time driving and more time exploring. Bring your campervan or tent and stay out of the cities, if that’s your thing.
• Downloading an offline map like Maps.Me would be wise just so you can keep track of where you are. Most of the trails are pretty straight forward but it’s even handy to have for driving when you lose service.
• Double-check road conditions if you come out in the shoulder season or during Oregon’s winter. Some of the roads to these falls close in adverse weather conditions.

Which of these Oregon waterfalls are you chasing first? Let us know in the comments!

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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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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 want to help you decide what to wear in Mexico! In this post, I’m going to share about the different regions, weather, resort wear vs. casual, and different experiences and outdoor activities you might want to pack for. Below is a complete Mexico packing list to help you get prepped!

Different Regions of Mexico

Mexico is not just the beach! There are so many areas in Mexico, lakes, mountains, and bustling cities. You will want to think about your itinerary when you start to pack. Some cities will feel a little more conservative than others. For example, in Merida, where I am based, people are mostly Catholic and cover up quite a bit: booty shorts and a bra-like crop top will really make you stand out.

Resorts vs. Regular Travel in Mexico

If you’re staying at a resort on the coast, it really doesn’t matter what you pack in terms of “Mexico” specifically, you can pack the same thing you would for Florida – but most resorts are a good excuse to dress up, at least for dinners.

Weather in Mexico

The summer here gets hot, hot, hot in some places. In general, in the winter, even in the hot areas, you will want to dress for some chill because even the hot areas will cool down a bit at night and jeans a sweater are sometimes the best thing to throw on.

When you are coming here in the extreme heat in the summer, I prefer to wear light linens, sun dresses that allow a breeze, and bring a sun hat to make any outfit instantly chic.

If you come to the higher areas in the winter, like Mexico City, dress for the cold! I was just in Mexico City last week, and it was around 40 degrees F at night yet nice and warm in the daytime. Layers are key! A sweater, jeans, socks, closed shoes, and a leather or suede jacket was perfect.

What to Wear in Mexico For…

Adventure Activities

You are totally fine to wear leggings here or shorts if you prefer with a workout top or tee shirt. I like to wear Tevas or Chacos when I can go with open-toe shoes but if closed-toe, you might want to check out Keen boots if you are doing a LOT of hiking or just a classic tennis shoe. A shoe like a Teva can also act as a cuter water shoe for visiting cenotes or waterparks.

Sightseeing

Some of the towns in Mexico are SO colorful. It’s such a good place to either dress in bright colors or if you want to pop, wear white! For shoes, I like to pack something like Ked shoes for when it’s rainy or a bit dirty/dusty to walk, or my favorite walking sandal, UGG Kari slides which make me feel like I’m walking on a cloud all day and are so darn cute. For a cheaper option, consider Franco Sarto “Gia” sandals – so cute and comfy.

The Beaches

Like most beaches, you pack as you usually would: bikinis, coverups, and [easyazon_link identifier=”B004XGPMFA” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]sunscreen[/easyazon_link]. I like to take a baseball hat or sun hat because it does get HOT here and I do burn here even more than I did in India. Bring your [easyazon_link identifier=”B07CXG6C9W” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Kindle[/easyazon_link]! For towels, the BEST is a Tesalate towel which is anti-sand and packs so well. You can use code “hippieinheels15” to get 15% off the towel. I also think you’ll want a perfect tote bag for the beach which you can just use as your “personal item” when you fly. Protect your eyes with sunglasses (like these) that are polarized; I like classic Wayfarers from Ray-ban.

Cultural Activities

Visiting Mayan Ruins or churches, you really might stand out in a skimpy outfit. It’s not really a religious thing as much as it is families will be there together and will dress to impress sometimes so you’ll just look out of place.

I recommend closed-toe shoes (even though I’m not wearing them here) because it’s dusty at a lot of these ruins and if you’re like me, it’s a terrible feeling to have dry dusty feet!

Nightlife

Literally, anything goes for the clubs and cantinas! Dress however you feel comfortable. For dinners, it’s the same as anywhere else: maybe a little less on the club look and little more casual or nice if it’s a fancy restaurant.

A Sample Mexico Packing List

If I were visiting Mexico for around 2 weeks and packing in a checked luggage (I have so many I love you can check out full details here but I’ll link some below too!)

10 Dresses

Sounds like a lot BUT we’re talking 14 days here – and dresses don’t take up that much space. 10 dresses and you’re ALMOST set! Dresses help with the heat, go from day to night, and are cute as can be! 1-2 dresess will be a smidge sexy while the rest will be casual and cool.

4 Bottoms

I’ll take a mix here. Currently, I’m into ADO high-waisted shorts and would take a white and a dark jean. I’ll then pack a cropped light Levi (like this one) and a “trouser”, my faves now are a gorgeous high-waisted mustard pair from Anthro.

1-2 Cute Top

To mix with the above, I’ll take a cute blousy shirt. Anthro has the best options!

4 Tee Shirts

I love to have tee shirts that are actually LOVE. I get them on sale from Anthropologie or I love to get the “bandana tees” from Free People that have my favorite brands on them.

2 sets Activewear

I love Stronger sets, Lilybod Leggings, Fabletics, and so many more – but you can bring what you love best!

Underwear/Bras

Nordstrom makes the most comfortable basic thongs which take up no space and are great for travel. Just buy a bunch in nude and take them on all your trips! For bras, the Demi by VS is the best but see all my favorite bras in this blog post.

Winter

Don’t underestimate the cold of Mexico in the winter. Check the forcast and keep elevation in mind. Mexico City and other popular places are at high elevations. You will want a coat – something like a leather jacket or suede coat is great, layered over a sweater. You will want warmer pants like jeans and tennies shoes or even boots. Dress for “fall” weather basically. No need for hats and gloves in most places. (Oh, also check out my winter skincare routine)

Shoes

• UGG Kari Slide (It’s the best)
• Franco Sarto
• James Smith Platforms
• UGG “Tye” Tennis Shoes
• Reef Flip-Flops
• Teva Tirra Sandals (only if water adventure stuff)
• Keen Boots (only if doing adventure stuff)

Toiletries

Here are some items I always travel with:

Misc

• Patagonia Fanny Pack
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B07MQC46KW” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Sun Hat[/easyazon_link]
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B07B9SZZH9″ locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Baseball Hat[/easyazon_link]
• Polarized Ray-Bans
• Tesalate Towel
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B01HFIKZWW” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Beach Tote[/easyazon_link]
• Sarong
• Madewell mini-tote purse
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B01LZHIX13″ locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Camera[/easyazon_link]
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B07CXG6C9W” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Kindle[/easyazon_link]
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B00Z9QVE4Q” locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]Portable Battery[/easyazon_link]
• North Face Rain Coat
• Anatomie travel pants
• Tan linen button-up
• 2 PJ sets
• 5 Bikinis
• 3 Swim Cover-Ups
• Cotton Hair Scarf

Any tips on what to wear in Mexico?

For More Mexico Travel

• 50 Unmissable Things to do in Merida, Mexico
• 40 Things to do in Mexico: My Mexico Bucket List
• What It’s Like Living in Merida, Mexico

Pin for later!

The post What to Wear in Mexico: The Ultimate Guide + Sample Packing List appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

Wow, time flies! I feel like it was just a month ago I wrote my one month in Merida update and started it with “time flies!”. But it does, and we’ve really been loving it here living in Merida, Mexico. We moved here on May 22, 2018, after years in Goa, India (5 for me, but 8 for Ben). We’ve now been here almost a year!

A lot of people ask which we prefer more between India and Mexico and how they are different, so I wrote a blog post comparing the two which you can read here. I am just updating you on life here in case you’ve been following along and wonder what it would be like to move to Merida and just in general what it’s like living in Merida, Mexico!

Living in Merida Mexico

We love living Merida, Mexico! I have so many blog posts about how to move here from buying a car, getting car insurance to getting a license to getting a place to rent, health care, and so much more like the best restaurants and such! You can read them all here.

We are still in our beautiful rental house which we originally took for 3 months and extended to six months… and now have extended quite indefinitely. I love it here and am so glad we found this place. The landlord of our rental house is an architect and he’s actually designing a new home for us. We are planning on building a house in Cholul, a village outside of Merida to the Northeast. They’ve agreed to let us stay here until our house is done which is such a relief.

As for the house, we have found land but are still having it checked out with a notario before purchasing. We have some backup land in mind in case it falls through but we hope it will happen and be finalized before Christmas so that after that, we can start building. Ben was the project manager of building giant reefs in the sea, so I think he can manage managing building our house with the contractor – even though he doesn’t speak Mayan or Spanish. It will be an adventure and I will definitely share updates about it. I’m actually going to do monthly updates on my website Omni Curated so that I don’t overwhelm Hippie in Heels, since after all, it is a travel blog, not a house-building blog!

San Crisanto

less happy cat, dreaming of how he can next escape

we celebrated Halloween this year…

In the time I’ve been here in Merida, we’ve traveled to the USA in July to see my family, I’ve been in New Orleans, New York, and Florida for work. I’ve spent two weeks in Panama as well. Ben’s been to Austria to see family, and Toronto a couple of times for work. I’m actually back to the USA now in Ohio for Thanksgiving. I’ll be back again in a week to go to an awards show in NYC. We don’t sit still much! Luckily, we have found an incredible dog-sitter who loves Shanti, Omni, and Kitkat.

Merida airport is an international airport but a big connection was dropped – the Aeromexico flight from Merida to Atlanta. This flight was amazing because it connected us really well. But since it dropped, places we need to go involved long flights like 12+ hours to go a short distance. Merida just doesn’t have enough international connections. Most often, you have to fly to Mexico City then out. Other than that, we’ve been taking ADO buses to Cancun (4 hours) then flying out of there because it’s actually been faster. That’s been a bummer – but really the only downside.

downtown Merida 

Other than that, we have no complaints here. The pets have been settling in perfectly fine, too. The dogs love it here because we can walk them more, wander around parks and the beach, and not worry about dog fights with strays. Kitkat likes to escape when he can, but he always comes back. It does worry us since we live on a busy road but he’s a cat and they are sneaky – what can you do!?

I’ve gotten a lot done since moving here. I completed my Mexican residency and am now a resident which is pretty cool. I bought a used car, registered it legally, got car insurance, passed my driving exam (on the second try – damn parallel parking), and got a driver’s license. We got health insurance that covers us for accidents abroad and opened a bank account, which I transferred money into from the USA. We are 10x more legit here than we ever were in India in just six months. Okay, I am more legit… Ben has done 10% of that, but does that surprise you? Kidding, kidding ;) He can’t do it because you really have to do the residency first to then do the rest of it and he needs to go to England to get his bank papers notarized.

so many cute cafes and bakeries & so many nice people

With so much travel and so many “to do’s”, it was a busy time. I love checking stuff off a list, so now that it’s literally all checked off (minus building a house), it feels incredible! I actually have a post written, which I’ll post soon, about how to move to Merida and the exact steps I took and how to do them yourself.

Since we moved here in May, we got here at the hottest time here in the summer in the Yucatan with full humidity. May in India is hot but it was that same heat here for three months straight. I won’t lie, it wasn’t great! I begged my architect for central A/C in our new house (split levels just aren’t the same, I want to come home to a house that is already cooled off) but after running through the pro’s and con’s it’s just absolutely crazy to do central A/C here. Damn!

As for the rain, summertime rain here is nothing compared to India’s monsoon. It was nothing compared to Spring in Ohio, really!

The funniest thing is that Christmas-time here is the “peak” season and it’s still really hot and beautiful weather – but if you go into Costco or the mall, they’ve put away all the summer stuff like coolers, beach chairs, and umbrellas, and put out all winter clothes and flannel PJ’s! It’s so funny. It’s still like 90 degrees here and in the evenings, old ladies are in like winter coats. It’s SO Indian! They do the same thing. Our friend Leena used to come to our house in a winter coat with a scarf at 2 PM and it was like 85 degrees.

downtown Merida

Anyway, through all the busy-ness, we still did a lot of fun things around here. We had a couple of friends from Goa visit. We explored the yellow town of Izamal and did a day trip to Uxmal (Mayan Ruins). We’ve found cenotes and haciendas, tried local food, hung out in cantinas, explored different beaches, and tried as many restaurants as we can! We try to get out and make friends but it’s not that easy since we live in the Norte area and the bars and such are all in Centro 20 minutes away, we kind of talk our selves out of going. My goal next is to get out more and meet more people.

We’ve also been loving that we can get items at the grocery store that we couldn’t in India so we’ve been cooking a lot. The funny thing is, Ben had to cart Indian curry paste from Canada (the good stuff) so we could make curries here. We definitely miss Indian food!

tacos4life but missing us some curry!

Other things I’m loving here: being able to go to fancy movie theatres, my pilates class, going shopping with friends at actual malls with stores like Sephora (I have two friends now, lol), and being able to eat local Yucatan food but also Texas Roadhouse because lets be honest, I missed that kind of thing like crazy in India! I love the spas here (as good as Snips in Goa!) and the fact every single person is friendly – my Uber drivers wait until I get in the door before they drive away. I love Uber Eats! Food delivery is the bomb.com. It’s just been pretty wild coming back into the “real world”.

there is always something going on here, you are embedded in the Mayan culture

It’s always a hoot to see what expats from the USA complain about here because Ben and I are still in the mindset of “it has everything, it’s so easy!” because compared to five years in the jungle in India, I might as well be in the USA right now. I mean, there’s the Walmart – several. I can get Velveeta cheese here and coffee creamer. Life is good.

I’ve gotten to see my family more this year than I have in the past 7 years and it’s really nice; a feeling I can’t really describe. India was SO far from home and just being closer is a nice change. I’m on the same time zone and can message friends and family throughout the day. My mom came with me to Florida and when the trip was over and she went back to Ohio, and me to Mexico, I didn’t have that pit in my stomach because I knew I’d see her again in a month (which is right now because I’m home for Thanksgiving)

In December, my parents and Ben’s mom and her boyfriend and his little brother are coming to stay with us over Christmas. My mom said, “by then, we’ll probably be sick of you!” After so many years seeing each other only July every year, it’s quite a change to be able to laugh about seeing each other too much.

After Christmas, we plan on visiting India in January. My friend had a baby, Zyon, and I’m (one of) his godmother(s). We’ll hang in Goa, and then I’m off to explore around India somewhere new! From there, I don’t know what travels await really. I know I want to see more of Mexico, Central America, and South America but we’ll also be building a house and I have a feeling that’s going to be more work than I’m imagining.

It’s been a crazy change this year but Ben and I both know we made the right choice moving from Goa when we did. We’re really happy here in Merida and looking forward to settling in even more! I hope you liked this look into what it’s like living in Merida, Mexico.

The post What it’s Like Living in Merida, Mexico appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

After Jacksonville and St. Augustine, my mom and I drove down to Ocala to spend the last two days of our mother/daughter trip to Florida. Ocala is a lesser-known place to visit in Florida, but one that a local told me was a “do not miss” because of the beautiful Silver Springs State Park. While I won’t be able to tell you all the top things to do in Ocala since I was here just two days, I will tell you what I prioritized doing for these two days after much research online.

It was easy to add to an itinerary, just a short drive from Jacksonville than we easily flew out of Orlando airport. Ocala itself is spread out with some things to do here located in nearby Dunnellon, so I recommend having a rental car to visit here. Ocala is known for its beautiful horses and the Silver Springs State Park, but there is more to it than that!

Of course, you will want to visit the park, so let’s start there! The idea of getting in a glass-bottom boat made me a little nervous, but it’s the only way to go out on the water here – you can’t do SUP or go swimming as it’s protected. I thought “what can we really see under the water?” Turns out, quite a lot!

The boat tour is just 45 minutes long and while I’m normally bored for tours to get over, it actually flew by. Our driver was really funny and told us some interesting stories – plus we got to see an alligator! You wouldn’t believe how clear this water is and how DEEP it goes, according to him, all the way to China. In reality, they don’t know. Specialists have come out to cave dive but can only go down so far because the rocks get too close together and they’d get stuck – so we will never know how deep it goes.

Tons of water flows out of here into the ocean from a spring (which you’ll see bubbling underneath on the tour) which is very important because if it didn’t and we tried to keep the water as drinking water, then Florida would literally go underwater because this pressure going out keeps the sea from coming in! They have filmed tons of movies here like The Creature from the Black Lagoon and there are movie props still underwater.

You might also see monkeys. You might wonder why monkeys are in Florida. Some say it’s because of when they filmed Tarzan here and some monkeys escaped. Others say the guy who started this park (before it was a state park) brought them in as part of a tourist attraction.

I really wanted to swim in the water but since you can’t we went to KP Hole aka “rainbow springs” on the other day we were there, which has the SAME clear blue perfect water and you can swim, SUP, and kayak in it.

When you take off you’ll go with the current, so be careful not to get too far away because you’ll be tired going back up. On the other hand, you can use a third party when you book that will actually pick you up down the river and bring you back up! You can rent inner tubes and actually just float down – which we saw many families doing. Locals were saying how cold the water was in October but being from Ohio, we thought it was just perfect. As always, mom could have stayed out there all day but my arms gave out way before hers would have.

Ocala is really about nature in a lot of ways with the beautiful lagoons and the horse fields, and while we didn’t have time to visit any, you will see them anyway – as you drive past hundreds on the way in, out, and around town.

There are some seriously stunning mansions with horse farms outside but there are also normal houses, fenced in, with the horses just in the front yard like you’d see someone do with their dog. How cool is that!? Someone told us that the horses that are in Kentucky for Derby and such, come down to Florida for the winters.

While you’re out in Dunnellon at KP Hole, take a little detour to Just a Cupcake Bakery.

Everyone will tell you (as many people did for me on Instagram) that this is the best salad anywhere near Ocala. The tex-mex salad was delicious and it’s all made in-house, even the salsa. My mom had the Cuban sandwich was was delicious and the cole slaw, which we asked for the recipe for. I won’t tell you what it is but will say she doesn’t add vinegar, she keeps it simple!

Of course, you need cupcakes and they have about 30 flavors to choose from! We got birthday cake and mimosa, made with real champagne.

While we spent a lot of time in the surrounding areas of Ocala in Marion County, we spent our evenings in downtown Ocala. It is such a cute little town – almost like something out of a movie.

There are brick roads with cute boutiques, restaurants, and many wine shops which of course we had to pop into. The coolest one was Corkscrew where you can make your own wine. We went in not even knowing that but because we sign a sign for a $5 flight of wine tasters.

Wanting a great roof top view, we next with to Pi On Broadway for a beer and some guacamole! Their pizzas looked good, but we had to save room for dinner at what we were told would be our best meal in town.

For dinner, we went to The Ivy House and this pasta was the perfect way to end the trip because I can actually still taste it now if I really think about it – it’s the best pasta I think I’ve ever had. Seriously. It was a seafood pasta but I just got the shrimp. The sauce was lemony and kind of creamy – while most are little oily, this wasn’t at all. Mom got the chicken with mac and cheese and corn bread. I stole her corn bread. We also got huge side salads as our sides, and they were really good, too! This was a perfect meal; don’t miss it.

Inside the restaurant, they had these old photos of town back in the day. Pretty cool!

This mother-daughter trip was all about shopping, eating, SUP, and spa so of course we had to check out the best spa in the area. We went to the Ranch Spa and Fitness Center for massages and facials. We both got the hot stone massage (I love them and it was mom’s first time having one) and we both loved it. Such a great way to end the trip! Mom and I also had facials which were so good before our flights home.

While we weren’t there long, we did fit in quite a bit – although there is so much more than I hope I get to come back to this area again. We stayed at the Best Western which is off the highway next to all the other hotels like Hilton, Hampton Inn, etc and near a Cracker Barrel and some other restaurants. Downtown Ocala is a small town and I didn’t even see hotels in town, so this is definitely the area to stay. Plus, this gets you closer to going to Silver Springs and other places you visit outside town.

Our hotel was a great location, clean, had a pool, and had a huge epic breakfast with what is most important to me: multiple flavors of coffee creamer, lol! We loved our time and I’d definitely stay here again if we came back. This hotel was nearly renovated this year making it the best hotel in Ocala area.

Pin these things to do in Ocala for later:

This trip was a paid campaign with Visit Florida. I choose the activities I do and places I visit; all opinions are my own.

The post Top Things to do in Ocala Florida (and Nearby) appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

Did you know St. Augustine is the oldest city in the USA? It is! You can step back in time to actual forts used hundreds of years ago, wander the old fashioned alleys of St. George Street eating fudge and caramel apples, and visit the beach as well. There are so many things to do in St. Augustine and in three days I’m sure we barely scraped the surface – but not for lack of trying!

I planned out so many fun unique things to do ahead of time and we used a local map to make sure we hit the tourist spots too, making sure there was a nice mix.

The main area of St. Augustine is St. George Street which is really like going back in time. It’s so pretty and has cool restaurants (all playing live music at night), old-fashioned candy shops and yummy chocolate like Whetstones, cool craft shops, and even a tourist attraction with the oldest school in the USA!

You can take a trolley around town with a couple of different companies, like Red Train Tours, so that you can get a feel for where everything is and then go back at your own speed, or you can actually get on and off the trolley throughout the afternoon and hit up all the places that you’re keen to visit. There are upward of 20 tourist attractions in St. Augustine and not all will be up your alley, so take a look ahead of time and see which ones are important to you.

We stayed right on St. George Street which is what I recommend. I love being right in the middle of it – it’s a family place, not a party place so you don’t need to worry about noise at night. It’s so nice to wake up, be right near the fort, and even go out there for sunrise (yes, I actually did this!).

There are so many inns to choose from, but I knew that I had to stay at the St. George Inn which was mentioned in every travel magazine as the “it” place to stay. I loved it! The rooms were huge (we actually had two rooms), a big clean bathroom, perfect location, friendly staff, and a really nice breakfast spread! You also get free parking at the parking garage which is just a 2-minute walk from the hotel.

Note that St. Augustine town where St. George Street is, isn’t where you can go swimming – you will drive to St. Augustine Beach for that. Some people prefer to stay on the beach so you can look into hotels across the bridge (it’s just 10 minutes) or even camping at the State Park.

Just outside of the hotel, across the street is the most famous attraction in town, Castillo de San Marcos. We took our coffee out there for sunrise but also visited it during the daytime to do a proper tour. You can buy tickets at the entrance to go inside, but you can walk around outside of it for free.

You could do this at the beginning of the trip so you can get a quick lesson in the history of St. Augustine and what makes it the oldest city in the USA. Ponce de Leon found St. Augustine (and all of Florida) while looking for the Fountain of Youth. This area was home to Native Americans, French, English, Spanish, and more and battles ensued. I won’t share the history because let’s be honest, I’d probably mess it up – but also because it’s part of the reason to come here. Learning about the history of the USA is cool and there are so many places to do that here.

We were lucky to visit during restaurant week so got to try some mixed menus from a couple of famous places at much lower prices. The first place we went for dinner was Michael’s Tasting Room. This is the most famous restaurant in town from what I gather and it was SO delicious. I had the short ribs (cooked all day long with a coffee flavor) and a chocolate dessert, but what stood out most was the salad. I have never said that before in my life! I loved it so much – fruit, nuts, and a great dressing. I really should try to make one myself one day, lol.

My mom’s a teacher’s aid and has worked in a school since I can remember, even as a volunteer when I was really little at my elementary school. It was fun to go check out the “oldest wooden school in America” with her. They had a sign in there that the “dunce hat” was put on the kids that were slow learners, not the trouble-makers. How mean is that!? They also had a little box cubby area where the bad kids had to go sit.

Our hotel has a wine bar called Bin 39 and you can get wine flutes for $10 here, it’s crazy. I mean, after traveling I thought Ohio was really affordable, but Florida is right there with us. You can definitely visit here on a budget… and still get drunk ;)

A trip to St. Augustine isn’t complete without a visit to the St. Augustine Lighthouse. I recently read the book Light Between Oceans and was pretty interested in the lighthouse life of the old days. The walk to the top is hundreds of steep steps but it’s really not that bad and people of all ages were doing it. The view is incredible!

For people who say America just doesn’t have the “history” that Europe has, I feel ya on the fact Europe is REALLY old, but I had no idea just how cool St. Augustine would be and how much I would learn. This is the nation’s oldest port!

If you want to do something really off-beat, then go for a salt spa! The Salt Spa at St. Augustine was brought to life by a Polish woman who grew up going to the salt spas that are so famous in Poland. In Europe, the idea of having a spa day that is all about health and relaxation is normal, while in the USA it’s more about hair and nails. Salt has so many proven benefits for your respiratory health and so many other areas of your health.

To go into the salt cave is around $30 but really quite affordable for anyone. My mom fell asleep pretty much right away – it was so relaxing. After, we went into the “pods”. What a crazy experience! You go inside these pods (below) and float in the salt water – a similar feeling to the dead sea. The salt makes you float. You stay there for a whole hour with the lid closed. Tom Brady does this before and after every game. Not only great for your body but also your mind.

St. Augustine is probably the most famous for being where the Fountain of Youth is located. Ponce de Leon thought he found it in 1513 and you can come drink from the very same spring of water. You won’t only learn about Ponde de Leon’s journey but you’ll also learn about the Timucua Indians, who were the largest indigenous group in this region.

Do mom and I look younger yet?

Before you leave, grab a bite from the BBQ place there called Smoked Southern BBQ. I know what you’re thinking – it’s got to be a tourist trip. But you’d be wrong! This is a sister restaurant to Preserved, one of the best restaurants in town, and is seriously AMAZING. I had a little bit of everything as you can see. It was really affordable as well, which is rare at a tourist site.

There is some pretty good shopping on St. George Street but actually the places we loved shopping the most was Uptown on San Marco Avenue. We saw these boutiques on the way to the Fountain of Youth and stopped after. I hadn’t read about them online before! There is a mix of homewares, antiques, and cute cafes so I think coming here early for breakfast, coffee, and shopping before you go to the Fountain of Youth would be perfect.

We also went out to the St. Augustine Outlets while it was raining one afternoon and got some steals at the Loft! I feel like you can’t go on vacation in Florida and not go to the outlet malls.

Are you already wondering how we fit this all into three days? I’m not done yet! Across the bridge from town is Anastasia Island and Anastasia State Park. We went out here with Anastasia Watersports to do some SUP with a dolphin expert from Marineland. You can see turtles and more while you’re out there and it’s just a really beautiful park to drive through as well and check out the viewpoints. It’s just $35 for two hours or you can go for an hour for just $20. I told you it was an affordable trip. My mom and I couldn’t believe that was the price. In Ohio, at Lake Erie, it’s $100/hour to rent a SUP.

You’re going to work up and appetite and you cannot leave St. Augustine without chowing down at St. Augustine Seafood Company. I think I actually devoured my fish sandwich is under 3 minutes. The cole slaw, potato salad, fries, lemonade, and the St. Augustine style Minorcan clam chowder were all so, so good. You’ve got to try the Minorcan style clam chowder, which you’ll only get in this region.

The last thing we did in St. Augustine was a food tour with Roadster Tours. We did the “wine and dine” tour and really enjoyed it. Not only was the food great, but it was so cool to just mingle with some fresh faces and get to know them. We loved our group and had so much fun – I think everyone was pretty boozed up by the end of the night since we started with a wine tasting and had a drink or two at every stop. They take you to really popular places (like dessert at the Floridian which was so freaking good and such a cool restaurant – don’t miss it) and it changes each time so you could even do this tour more than once. They have 40 places they alternate between.

You do the tour by “Roadster” which is a big four-wheeler, kind of? But it’s fun to ride around in from place to place. We actually got to see a lot of St. Augustine this way which we wouldn’t have normally seen, like fancy neighborhoods, epic mansions, and this view!

The wine tasting we started at with the beautiful fairy lights was Carrera Wine Cellar and it was amazing – such a cool place with a porch inside! The tour covers a lot of ground and I highly recommend it.

St. Augustine was SUCH a cool city and my mom is already planning to go back with my dad – and I’m trying to figure out when I can make another trip!

Pin these things to do in St. Augustine for later!

This trip was a paid campaign with Visit Florida. I choose the activities I do and places I visit; all opinions are my own.

The post The Best (and Tastiest) Things to do in St. Augustine On A Mother Daughter Trip appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

Jacksonville has so much to offer from downtown to “Jax Beach” and even in-between, there is a lot to do. I visited here with my mom on a trip around northeast Florida. We had four jam-packed days to try the coolest things to do in Jacksonville.

Before visiting, I did a lot of research and planned out a pretty epic itinerary if I do say so myself. Since it was a mother-daughter trip, my focuses were doing an activity like a craft, doing something active like SUP or yoga, trying a spa, good local food, shopping, and exploring both the beach and downtown.

There are so many cool things to do in Jacksonville and I think these are some of the best! Definitely consider them for your trip because we had the best time here and I’d go back to do them all over again. While these are things to do in Jacksonville on a mother/daughter trip this could easily be for a girl’s getaway or even with your boyfriend or kids!

13 Unique Things to do in Jacksonville Florida

1. Choose a Fun Hotel

We stayed at two hotels. We stayed first at Four Points by Sheraton for a night on Jacksonville Beach (more South) which was perfect but then we stayed at Hotel Palms for some more “boutique hotel” vibes at Hotel Palms which is by Neptune Beach and near Beaches Town Center which is a really cool area. This hotel is a restored motel and it’s so unique. The rooms are actually really big, comfortable, and they serve coffee at a fun coffee bar in the morning. You can take bikes for free and ride to the beach.

I highly recommend both hotels and love the style and vibe more, but if you’re desperate for a pool keep, go for the Sheraton.

2. Get Sporty with SUP or Yoga

My mom and I love to do SUP, even though my arms get sore and she could go for hours. We went out with Jax Surf and Paddle at Dutton Island Preserve which is a great way to see the park and learn about the ecosystem while you paddle around. We had so much fun with our instructor, Kristen, and it was beautiful.

You could also try a yoga class at Yoga Mix, which is really popular in Neptune Beach. You can bring your own mat or rent one.

3. Massages at One Ocean Resort

One Ocean Resort at Atlantic Beach is one of the most popular luxury resorts in Jacksonville. While we didn’t stay there, we did go for a spa day! When you use the spa, you can also pop out and use the pool, steam room, and sauna which is a nice bonus. The massages were amazing and it was a great way to kick off the trip! We both did the “signature” massage which was therapeutic, light, and relaxing.

 4. Dinner at North Beach Fish Camp

We wanted fried food ASAP so went to one of the most popular restaurants in town, North Beach Fish Camp, which has a variety of food from comfort food like fried fish baskets with hush puppies to Mediterranean meals like my chicken, pictured above. We also tried the clam chowder and it was all delicious. Go early because there is a wait!

5. Wine and Dine at the Coolest Wine Bar in Town

Please go to Royal Palm Wines and have tapas! This was one of my favorite meals all week in Florida. EVERYTHING was good. We ordered 4 plates to share and it was enough because the portions are huge. We had veggie flatbread, mac and cheese, sliders, and a bean dip. This is a must!

It did get crowded at the night went on, so get a table early or make a reservation. This place is cool because you get get a bottle of wine (they are all around the restaurant on the walls) and pay an un-corking fee, so the wine is basically at the same price as a grocery store. We didn’t want a whole bottle, so paid by the glass and it was really reasonable, I think around $5 a glass.

6. DIY Wood Board Signs

Making a wood sign at Creative Grains was one of my favorite activities. I love doing crafts when I travel because it’s such a cool souvenir and it’s nice to “do” something and get creative. My mom loved it as well. We always see these on Pinterest so it was cool to pick a design we liked most, and do it ourselves.

There were a group of fun ladies there at the same time as us who were making family signs for their houses. It’s also cool just to see what other people are making (and secretly judge their color choices, lol). My cat is jealous he didn’t get called out in the sign.

7. Shop Til You Drop at St John’s Towncenter

Between the Beach and Downtown, is St John’s Towncenter. With over 200 stores from Tiffany’s to Target, it’s one of the biggest malls in Florida. My mom and I couldn’t believe the size of it – it’s like 20x bigger than our mall in Columbus. We had about four hours here but I’m telling you, I could have stayed all day or even come back the next day! Living in Mexico, I love shopping days in the USA even more than before.

There are some really unique stores there, too, that are more local. We picked up my nephew some toys at Kool Kids in the Marcus Lemonis store (he is the guy from the TV show The Prophet). One store that I really loved was Natural Life which is kind of a like a wholesale store with all the cute nick-nacks and gifts you love like fluffy socks, mugs, little planters, jewelry dishes, etc. The woman who started it just did an Etsy store at first, but now she stocks stores like Fransescas! Yep, all that pretty stuff you see in there is actually all from this brand! This is their only flagship store.

8. Fill Up At Moxie

What is a shopping day without a boozy lunch? We went to locally-owned Moxie which is just around the corner from the mall, and it is THE BEST MEAL I’ve had all year. I kid you not. Did those pictures not make you drool!? The chicken and waffles came with a maple syrup mousse, the deviled eggs change daily and they are always some kind of cool creation, the meatloaf had a huge slap of provolone cheese on top, and the PIMENTO CHEESE DIP is the best thing I’ve ever eaten. I have to go back here one day!

9. See What Local Event is Going On

While I was in Jacksonville, Beaches Oktoberfest was going on right outside the hotel on Jacksonville Beach. Free live music? Awesome! There is something going on every month, usually many events that are free to enter, so check out what’s going on while you are there.

From having a sunset drink at Lemon Bar overlooking the sea to checking out the boho boutiques like Sailors Siren, Drift, Fig & Willow, and Jax Surf and Paddle. It’s a small are here with trendy restaurants are cool homewares stores. It’s definitely a place to spend some time. I think it’s best to go before dinner and shop before you have a meal here. The shops mentioned are carrying tons of items from the Natural Life shop I mentioned above. This is where we ate at North Beach Fish Camp and is just a two-minute walk from Hotel Palm.

11. Sunday Brunch at Casa Marina

Casa Marina has a Sunday Brunch which I believe was $40 per person. Make sure to make a reservation! You can sit inside or outside. The poached egg on a fried green tomato and sausage and gravy were my favorite! I had too much bacon and WAY too much whipped butter on my waffles! It was all delicious.

12.  Breakfast at Maple Street Biscuit Company

This was one of the things I wasn’t going to leave Jacksonville without doing. Maple Street Biscuit Company is famous for being the best breakfast in town. Look at that chicken biscuit with sausage gravy! I wish I could have it again – so so tasty. I put maple syrup IN MY COFFEE, haha! This place is the bomb.

I would also like to note they didn’t know I was a blogger when I came in and the manager came over and explained the menu and was so nice and welcoming to us which really makes a place even more special.

13. Tour Downtown & Lunch at Cowford Chophouse

On our way out of town to head onward to St. Augustine, we went through Jacksonville city. There is a lot of history in Jacksonville and it’s important to go check out this part of the city and not just the beaches even if just for a few hours.

We did a tour with Ad Lib Tours to get a quick insight to the city, and see some of the most iconic murals, statues, and even an old bank vault which doubled as a bomb shelter during the scare of the Cuban Missile Crisis (you can see all the drinking water above which was stored there). We grabbed a fancy lunch at Cowford Chophouse before leaving town. You’ll learn on the tour why “cowford” is a famous word here!

Pin the coolest things to do in Jacksonville for later!

This trip was a paid campaign with Visit Florida. I choose the activities I do and places I visit; all opinions are my own.

The post 13 Unique Things to do in Jacksonville Florida appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

After moving to Merida, we wanted to do a few things: get the pets in safely from India and find a local vet, learn Spanish, buy a car, and get our temporary Mexican residency. We did all these things, but the permit for residency takes time and you are not allowed to leave Mexico during that time. I needed to leave Mexico for work and had to apply to leave – which is necessary or your application will be canceled and voided. This is how to get an exit permit from Mexico while your temporary residency is pending.

I wrote a detailed guide to getting residency for Mexico with how I did it (interviewing at the Mexican consulate in Atlanta then following up to finalize the permit in the INM office in Merida). You can read all about that here. But, while you are waiting on that permit to be finalized, you cannot leave and that can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

How to Get an Exit Permit from Mexico While Your Temporary Residency is Pending AKA “El Permiso de Salida y Regreso”

This is the exact page to find the information from the Mexican government on this. It’s in Spanish, but just right click and say “translate page” and you can read it in English if you need to. You can also look at the requirements to leave on this page and the form you need to fill out here.

Where do you go to get permission to leave Mexico while your temporary resident visa is pending? The INM (immigration office)

What is the cost of the exit permit? Currently 405 pesos, but this changes each year.

How many times can you use the permit? It can be used only ONCE.

How long is the permit good for? It expires in 90 days from the day it’s issued.

TIP: If you apply way ahead of when you need to leave, they will wait to issue it closer to your flight date thinking that you want as much of those 90 days as possible but if you are only leaving for a short time, not a full 90 days, let them know they can process it right away.

What you need to take with you to the INM to get the exit permit

1. Copy of the application form pending the resolution (original AND a copy of the pending paperwork for your visa)
2. Proof of payment of rights (405 pesos). You can do this online with this form (which is of course, in Spanish), print, then take it to the bank and make the payment.
3. A child-sized photograph (size 2.5 x 3 cm.) In front, white background, with forehead and ears uncovered, without earrings and without glasses
4. This form filled out online and then printed
5. A copy of your flight itinerary or other travel outside of Mexico
6. Proof or writing with which the foreigner accredits or states causes of force majeure when he requests this procedure before the immigration authority of the place destined for the international transit of persons through which he leaves the national territory.

Here are some screenshots from the government site saying what is needed in case you want to see that:

Here is another place that listed what is needed:

Do not make mistakes on the form in #4. This is what causes delays. Remember when you type your “Calle” which is your street number, you must put the streets it’s between. Example: you live on Calle 50 between 30 and 32, you need to write Calle 50 x 30 y 32. The form is fairly easy to get through IF you know Spanish. If not, you really shouldn’t guess as you’ll just be running around like a chicken with your head cut off back and forth to the office with fixes.

This is what the online form looks like. Fill it out online, submit it, but also print it out.

Number five is pretty important. You need to prove that you NEED to leave Mexico and they give you a letter that has blanks on it that you just fill in. You have to apply at the same office that your visa is pending. I had flight tickets that were my proof.

I had all these documents photographed but honestly, it takes ages to black everything out in my photo editor and I don’t think it’s important to see the forms, they are linked :)

This is what they say is their process on the website:

“Upon entry of the foreign person, the migratory authority of the immigration screening filter will record the income of the foreign person, in the status of stay indicated by the exit and return permit. The foreigner has the obligation to obtain in the permit of departure and return, the migratory stamp upon leaving the national territory and upon his return. The foreign person must complete the FMM for statistical purposes, both at departure and upon return.” FMM is just that form that they give you on the plane to fill out when you land in Mexico, so you’re basically going to do this backwards.

What is happening is when you enter the country on the temporary residency but it’s not finished, you have that FNM paper. You have to go to the INM office and change that FNM paper to the plastic residency card – which is how you finish the residency. You have to give them over that FNM paper. Since you don’t have it, you cannot leave Mexico as that is the paper you show to leave Mexico when you aren’t a resident.

So, you have to get the exit permit which is a literal piece of paper that you will show at immigration when you leave Mexico that says you can leave. You have to keep this paper! It’s like the opposite of the FNM form. When you go to leave, you will get an FNM form from the airline staff and do it backward like you would as a resident – it seems odd, but you will fill out the BOTTOM part for them to stamp with your exit details (fill out the top, too but that is for when you come back with your airline and date information) and you will take that with you to immigration to leave Mexico. They will stamp that and your exit letter. You need to keep the exit letter and the TOP part of the FNM paper. If you were a resident, you would just have the FNM paper.

Then when you re-enter Mexico, you will show that again. On the plane when they are passing out FNM forms, you don’t need one because you have that top half with your entering flight information. Show it with your letter. They will stamp your incoming letter, passport, and keep that FNM paper.

I did this three times. One time, they forgot to stamp my FNM paper when I exited from Mexico City and the immigration in Merida just rolled his eyes about it and still let me go through without issue when I re-entered Mexico.

That’s the gist of it. Then you’ll go to the INM and hopefully finish your residency that is pending. Take them the final exit permit letter which is stamped in and out. You need to keep this!

The process is easy at the airport. Just make sure you get that FNM form when you check into your flight. One thing you need to keep in mind is that you don’t have a forced immigration line in Mexico City if you are doing a “through” flight from somewhere else in Mexico out. AKA, I went from Merida to Mexico City then took my international flight from there.

In Mexico City when you get off your first flight, you are already in your terminal. There are kiosks you will see signs for foreigners who are residents. Go there. You cannot board your flight if you don’t have the stamped paper. This is for all residents of Mexico temporary or permanent. The sign is pictured below. They will be the ones to stamp your bottom half of FNM and give you the empty top half to keep for your return. It’s literally just across from a Starbucks.

If you are like me and have 5 trips lined up and have to keep getting exits permits (haha, I highly suggest avoiding this!), then you’ll want to go to the office and submit the next one right after you get back.

I needed so many exit permits for trips to Panama, NY, New Orleans, Florida, and Ohio and had so much lined up to do here like buy a car and work, that I just needed help with this. I couldn’t be running back and forth to Centro fixing errors from forms I couldn’t read in Spanish. I had actually done all this research already to share about it on the blog and had read so much about the process and even then, I didn’t want to do it myself.

Hiring Help to Help Get my Exit Permits

When I first came to Merida, I had joined an expat group so I could learn about living here called Expats in the Yucatan. It’s run by Yucatan Transitional Services (YTS), a company that helps people move to Mexico (buy cars, immigration, translation, you name it). When we arrived at Cancun airport with two dogs, a cat, and a ton of luggage, we knew a taxi wasn’t going to cut it. I hired YTS to pick me up at the airport. They were helpful and professional and with good rates, I ended up just working with them on basically everything I needed help with since moving to Merida – like finishing my visa process and making sure everything was in order for buying a rental car.

This process isn’t that difficult if you have time to fix mistakes and can understand Spanish. I lacked both time and Spanish skills and this was something I didn’t think twice about getting outside help with. I live in Norte, so with the Ubers back and forth and waiting at the office and the headache… not for me! I highly suggest them. If you want to connect with them, you can message them or email Erick at etgomezllanos@gmail.com.

For more information on your temporary visa, this is my original post which has how to get the visa, which I did partly on my own and part with the help of YTS.

The post How to Get an Exit Permit from Mexico While Your Temporary Residency is Pending 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.

Cheap Flights to Hawaii With Next Vacay

When people think of taking a week or two-week vacation in the USA, they tend to go to Florida, North Carolina, or maybe California. Hawaii has always seemed like a “save it for the honeymoon” or “save it for later” kind of place. Why? Because the flights are often expensive and people always say it’ll cost a couple of grand to have a vacation in Hawaii. But this is often in your head. You don’t have to stay at a 5-star hotel on the beach. Actually, I stayed in Hawaii for a month and did a lot of Airbnb rentals, cooking at home, and staying at small inns rather than resorts. I rented surfing and snorkeling equipment from small shops rather than booking tours. You can do Hawaii on a budget – and it might even feel more authentic.

I use Next Vacay to be on the lookout for insanely good deals since they email me a few times a week (sometimes a few times a day). They emailed me this deal of $341 for Hawaii and I immediately called my mom to see if we should book a trip. The price was so low and I feel like people just don’t imagine that you can go to Hawaii for this price from the mainland. I get so stoked when Next Vacay send out deals like this and end up tweeting about it all the time because it just lets people actually go the places they dream about – wanderlust in action! Next Vacay has been one of my favorite websites for travel for over two years now. You can read my full review here.

After you get the flight booked, you get to start planning your trip! You’ll have to think about which island really calls to you. Each island is so different and while Oahu is often visited most because of Waikiki and the Pearl Harbor memorial. Many people will tell you the Big Island is totally overlooked and you should prioritize it in your plans. Kaui is known as the most beautiful (it’s where Jurassic Park was filmed) and Maui is definitely a chilled honeymoon spot. These are the four most popular and it’s usually best to pick just two on your first trip.

Try to use the money you saved on the flight to treat yourself to a surf lesson or book a touristy yet amazing luau even if just to eat the delicious buffet.

You can do a mix of pre-planned activities and finding your own adventure. For example, one day you might want to take equipment from the hotel to snorkel from the shore but another day you can splurge out on a catamaran tour to snorkel at a small nearby island. You don’t have to do tours for everything. With a rental car, you can go explore bamboo forests and find secret waterfalls all on your own. 

Visiting just a couple of islands means there’s always a great reason to come back!

You might just be rolling your eyes thinking “there is no way I can go”. Whether it’s money, time off of work, or family commitments, you’re more likely to find a reason to stay home than to go.

With my blog, I might be showing you MY travels, but the point of it all is that I strive to make YOUR travel dreams real, not just something you “pin for later” on Pinterest. Later may never come! I show you tools like Next Vacay and booking websites to save you money on car rentals and hotels so that you can do it now – not later.

I’m sure you all want to swim with turtles and eat shave ice under a rainbow (not an exaggeration; Hawaii has a bizarre amount of rainbows, ha!). Try to think outside of the box. Now that you know there is a flight to Hawaii cheaper than you imagined, what can you move around to make the trip work? Do you need a dog-sitter or babysitter? Maybe you can ask your family to help. Do you have some vacation time you have been avoiding taking for years? It’s time to take it!

Yes, we’re all busy and we all have bills – but my travels to Hawaii and beyond are things experiences I’ll remember for the lifetime and the some of the best money I’ve spent. One thing that brings ideas like this trip to Hawaii from my mind to reality is using Next Vacay – signing up for it two years ago brought me trips and experiences that I would have missed otherwise. Their cheap deals made my travels so much better (and more often).

So, Wait – What is Next Vacay?

I have been using Next Vacay for over two years. I reviewed them and it went viral – I get video messages sent to my inbox on Instagram thanking me for turning them onto Next Vacay. In my 4 years of blogging, I’ve never seen my readers react so positively to a brand and get this excited about travel deals. It’s been wild to watch Next Vacay grow, as I knew the brand when they first started out. In fact, I am the first blogger they ever worked with.
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The main thing people ask before signing up is: “Is this real? It seems too good to be true.”. It’s real. It’s not too good to be true! It’s not a scam and there is no “hidden small print”. I can give you my word on that.

Let me sum up how Next Vacay works, don’t worry I’ll be quick!

You sign up with this link. You’ll get a month free trial, so you can cancel before your card is charged in that month. If you like it and keep it, you’ll pay their small fee of $25 which is for a whole year and input your closest airport and a couple of nearby ones. Then watch the emails come pouring in. I get a few a day as my airport is quite popular, but you might get a few a week. The prices listed are always a round-trip price. The email will tell you when and where you can get the deal and give you a link to click to book. You book through the link to a major airline site or Google Flights, not through Next Vacay.

The price for the membership doesn’t go up. It’s stayed the same price of $25 since I’ve been with them – and considering how popular they are, they could charge more but don’t which I appreciate as a member. They use their technology to find crazy cheap deals, only searching dates and destinations that make sense (not a two-day trip to Minnesota on a Tuesday in winter) and when one from your airport pops up, they email it to you.

The best part is that if you don’t find a deal you like in SIX months, you can cancel and get your money back. There’s literally nothing to lose. At the very least, you’ll get some travel inspiration in your inbox to keep your wanderlust alive.

For me, the best deals are ones from the USA to India, which is a flight I take a lot and they have saved me so much money finding deals on this. Rather than just reading my good deals, you can look at Next Vacay’s Facebook page to see the many users sharing the deals they’ve recently booked.

Ready for your dream trip? You can sign up for your free trial and plan it! Here are some other people’s reactions to Next Vacay so you can see what I mean:

Click here to get a free trial to next vacay

Pin these cheap flight to Hawaii deals for later (just hover over and the Pinterest logo will pop up for you to click it):

This post is in partnership with Next Vacay. I was paid for this post but only write about things I truly believe in. I have been a happy user of their services for over two years and not only love this company but think it’ll be the smartest $25 you spend toward travel this year!

The post Finally Cross Hawaii Off Your Bucket List With This $341 Round-Trip Flight appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

A few years ago, my parents had called from Ohio to India saying they were off work again due to snow and wind-chill. It was -32 degrees; so cold our dog couldn’t walk outside without her paws getting stuck in the ice and snow. So imagine my surprise when I’m on the last of four legs to home to Ohio (which was a 41-hour journey this time) and the lady next to me says in Ohio it’s been 70 degrees (F)! I was like “WHAT!” Here I am hoping for snow and I’m going to get the warmest winter ever!?

Well, I got lucky because after a few days we got a nice little snow storm. That meant fluffy clothes, big puffy coats, fires in the fireplace at home, homemade chili, and winter candles. I had missed winter! Ben and I were just in England last month, and it was cold, buuut England winter is not that fun because it rains bitterly cold wet nonsense.

So, thought I’d share two things 1) what I did while I was home and 2) what I bought which is what I always share – this time I won’t share what I ate because it was all the same stuff as always.

What I got up to in Ohio

I cam back to Ohio this year for about three weeks. As always, it doesn’t feel like long enough!

Most years that I come home I go work with a tourist board (last year it was an epic trip with my mom to Florida and a healthy retreat to Myrtle Beach). This year, I came home in the winter because I needed to renew my Indian visa. Normally, I would visit family in Ohio in the summer.  So, not only was there no vacation but my parents were at work most days. They are both teachers. I don’t have a car or insurance when I’m in Ohio so I’m basically 15 again.

PS: this is an old photo I recently found of my family on vacation that I just love!

But, luckily I have the best friends ever and they come drive me around and hang out with me! They even call the house phone first to see if I’m home and take me to the Taco Bell drive through (lol, it’s too much! Thanks, Arielle).

My brother and his wife had a baby so the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I got to go stay with them and be the first babysitter for the baby, Luke. They haven’t posted any photos on social media so I’m not going to share any but he is seriously the cutest.

I went down to Cincinnati one weekend to see family and also stay with my friends Melissa, Arielle, and Rachel who live down there which led to a hilarious night of drunken skating – yes, just regular skating like when we were kids. I hope you saw my Instagram stories of the synchronized skaters. We went to OTR in Cinci which was really cool and also really crowded (a two-hour-plus wait for any table). When we showed up to skate the lady behind the counter was like “who you guys here to pick up? I’ll call them over the speaker”. We are like umm, we aren’t moms. We are here to skate. I’ve been friends with these girls since we were 3 years old! We went to pre-school together. Arielle has been over to England and met Ben’s family and she’s who I was in Ireland with last year.

My besties from college, Alex, and Ann (who came to India) both came up to my parent’s house on the weekends and chilled. It’s basically like being a kid again and my mom as you might know from reading past posts about my time in Ohio, cooks me all my favorite foods. Another bestie since I was like 8 years old, Rochelle, came by with her daughter, Evie, who is the cutest. Not only did I get to see a bunch of my friends’ babies, I also got to see their cute new puppies! People don’t always want their kid’s photos online, so I’ll just show you the dog (and some Easter M&M’s haha)!

Of course, I had to stock up on some food for India and snacks for Ben and the dogs. This time, I saved loads of room in my luggage so my friends could do some online shopping and took things back to India for them. The mailman was like “you order a lot…” There were packages showing up every other day!

What I bought in Ohio

Imagine only doing one major shop per year.

Of course, when I travel, I shop a little but it’s mostly homewares like rugs and pillowcases. I don’t really shop for clothes much. So, this year I had to stock up on some new things like jeans, shorts, some sweaters (it was cold for a couple weeks haha), and other bits. I always share photos on Instagram stories and people DM all the time asking where I shop so thought this time, I’d just show you all the things I got since it’s what I’ll probably be wearing all of next year in photos! I can’t take too much to India so will only share my favorites and things I’m obsessed with!

An iPhone

After years of using a Xiaomi, I gave in and got an iPhone. The camera is just TOO good. It is nearly as expensive as a laptop but I honestly feel it’s worth it especially because my job requires taking so many photos. Now to make sure I never break it or lose it!

Etsy

There are some shops on there I have bought from over and over.

1. This belly button ring from Adi Miraro Jewelry
2. This crochet bikini top I literally always wear, in a new color. I have colors #62, #348, and #619. Cannot recommend this enough to wear for a swimsuit but also as a bra under rompers and jumpsuits.
3. These gold studs from Star River Rocks. I needed new studs and love these.
4. This dog tag. We just keep getting more pets. It’s ridiculous. I got the puppy that lives in our complex, our cat, and a friends dog new dog tags with the name and number on them.

UGG

I also have worked with UGG in the past and they sent me a winter coat to try out, so I got to be SO warm and cozy in this coat. I cannot wait until I do a big trip somewhere cold again. I also got some UGG tennies that are called the “Tye” and they are my new favorite shoe. I got them in “slate”.

Anthropologie

I shouldn’t even walk into Anthropologie because it’s really expensive but since I don’t shop often, I do kind of think “quality over quantity” and don’t mind paying a little more for stuff I know I’ll wear all the time. I got some striped pants that I know I’ll wear ALL the time, a sweater that was on sale and I had to have (even though it’s the last thing I need), and a striped shirt that Arielle says looks like a grandpa’s nightgown. I can’t find it online!

New Suede Jacket

The suede jacket in the photo above and below with that purse is from Nordstrom. It’s called “BLANKNYC”. It was less than $200 which for a jacket like this is fine for me! I have worn the same black leather jacket for 8 years and if this one ends up being the same, it’s well worth it. I got the color “midnight toker”. This is the link to it on Nordstrom or below are other places to buy it from.

Lo & Sons

I’ve used Lo & Sons for years and their camera bag is what I always carry. This year, they gifted me a little white canvas bag for upcoming “Earth Day” It’s organic. I also got a little orange crossbody that can be worn a bunch of different ways, even as a fanny pack.

Z Supply

I’ve been wearing a brand called Z Supply for a couple years now. Since living in India, all my tees and tanks get worn out after a year of wearing them to kickboxing, the beach, and washing them in Goa with washing soap that isn’t up to par. So I basically have to re-get basics each year. I re-bought this basic tee shirt, a v-neck, this tank dress that I love and got something I never buy: joggers. I have been seeing them everywhere and these are the softest things I’ve ever touched. I also got a new sleep shirt that is heavenly.

North Face raincoat

I have had the same North Face raincoat for about 10 years but the inside started to finally come off in little flakes, I think due to the high humidity in Goa. So, I finally got a new one – let’s hope it lasts another 10 years. This time I got one that is a little more fitted but always get black. Here’s some of theirs in case you want to look.

Free People

Like Anthropologie, I shouldn’t go in here! But, this time I only bought one thing and it was so cute I just couldn’t walk out without it! It is the cutest black suede bag. I usually always carry my fringe tan tote from Etnike (a Bali store on Etsy) but I didn’t have a black bag. But then I got online and thought oh, I should just look… and then I bought ALL the things. I’ll link them below. It all fits so good and I can’t wait to wear it back in Goa.

Shoes, of course

So, I live in the same black and brown booties from Lucky Brand and have for years. I got a pair of blue suede ones this year. They literally never change even 6 years later and they are the best boots I’ve ever had. I also got some cute flower platforms from Carlos, some festival style shoes, and flip-flops and sandals from a brand called Malvados that are just sturdy everyday shoes. I usually wore my Reef leather shoes to the beach but wanted some that really wouldn’t be damaged by contact with water and sand.

A few beauty items

I haven’t had a hot tool for my hair in years and when I was in England has to borrow Ben’s mom’s blow drier and straightener. I thought I’m basically almost 30 so I should probably get some of these things. So, I got this thing called the Beachwaver which is supposedly what Victoria’s Secret models use for their perfect waves. I’ve tried it once and it is really cool – it is a motorized thing that rolls up your hair – but I don’t think I did it right. I’ll play with it a bit but sadly it doesn’t work in India. I also got my Aveda ‘Blue Malva’ shampoo which keeps blonde hair from going ashy and the Aveda hand repair I always get. I also had a Sephora gift card so decided to get Laura Mercier tinted sunscreen – I haven’t tried it yet so will let you know if it’s any good!

So – did I shop too much!? Haha, no don’t answer that.

The post My First Ohio Winter Home in Over 5 Years appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

It’s almost embarrassing how much I need WiFi when I travel, but it’s really important for my job to stay connected as I work 100% online. I have tried and reviewed 3 other WiFi devices and get super geeky about it; I love seeing how the speed is, which networks they connect to, and how the battery life is. Because I’ve used multiple WiFi devices, I have a good idea overall of what to look for in a good pocket WiFi, and will share the pro’s and con’s in this Vision Global WiFi review.

Vision Global WiFi Review

Why Use a WiFi Device?

First, I want to explain how this device works in case you aren’t familiar with a WiFi device, as I know if my mom is reading this – she won’t know what this is (I use that as my “do I need to explain this more?” hehe).

This is a small handheld device that once you turn it on, will connect to 4G or 3G signal (whatever network that is in the area, in any country) and immediately give you internet before you even get off the plane.

It is a “hotspot” which means that it IS the WiFi and you simply turn on your WiFi on your phone or PC, select the Vision Global WiFi and then put in the password that comes with your device.

The reason for using a WiFi device is to save on international roaming on your own phone plan back home and to be able to have your own 4G or 3G without having to get a local SIM (which can be a difficult or impossible process in some countries). You also have your own internet and don’t need to plan on connecting to WiFi in Starbucks or be limited to two-hour airport WiFi limits.

When a device like Vision Global is great for me is when I am bouncing from country to country and can use just this one WiFi device in all places rather than get a new SIM each country I go to – which can actually be a waste of money if I’m not there long enough to make the most of the SIM. For example, in Morocco, my SIM was $40.

Just turned it on, getting ready to explore Merida, Mexico!

What Comes With the Vision Global WiFi Kit

Below is an image of what comes with your WiFi kit once you open it in the mail. You do want to have this sent to you before you start your trip. There is a little bag to hold it all, the device itself, and a charging cable. Pretty standard.

The first time I used this device was in the USA, and I was totally shocked to see that it connected to Verizon Wireless. This is by far the best connection in my area of Ohio, but other devices and international SIM cards I used in the past had connected to T-Mobile, which isn’t great in my area but is cheaper for them. I was impressed that they connected to Verizon even though it might cost them more (I’m not sure that it does, but assuming so). Because of that, I have had the best connection with Vision Global in the USA than other devices. I took this with me to South Carolina and Florida and also had a perfect connection.

Perfect for when I get dropped off at a museum, find out it’s closed, and am stuck! I can turn it on and get an Uber.

How to Order & Set Up the Vision Global WiFi Device

There are three easy steps to get this WiFi device ready to go.

1. Order the plan that works for you on the Vision Global website and pay online ahead of time.
2. Your device will be sent to your home address in the USA or other designated airport counters.
3. When your trip is over, you send the WiFi device back to them (it’s a rental). They will have sent a pre-paid envelope in the mail. It’s really easy to send back – I’ve done it twice already. They do ask that you send this a day after your trip ends.

There is basically no set up required. You turn on the device and click over to the WiFi name and password. That’s all you need to know to be connected. If you have no tech-knowledge it’s fine. It will automatically connect to the network and the internet will start working.

On the homepage, you will be able to see your data usage and see what date you had ordered the device until. You can see your data allowance on this screen where it says 0.00/4 GB. They will soon be changing all countries to unlimited. It will be high speed at either 500MB/day or 1GB/day and speeds down to 2G speed until the next day.

Pricing of the Vision Global WiFi Device

To show price, I’m going to go ahead and “plan a trip” on their website and share exact results with you. So, I’ve used this device in Mexico and the trip is November 24th to December 4th. The price that came up is $150 for 11 days in Mexico using 300 MB per day as a limit (again, after this month they are changing all countries to “unlimited” as mentioned above. You then click the pink “reserve” button. Here is where you can add other destinations if you are not going to only one country.

They give options for delivery or pick up. The pickup option is only at LAX. One downside is that you pay shipping fees even if you pick it up yourself and drop it back at LAX. It’s $16 to have it shipped to your home and back and $10 if you get it and drop it at LAX. There is an optional insurance you can add onto the device in case it’s lost or stolen which is $2 or $3 per day depends on the plan you choose.

Since I am doing this review for Vision Global, they offered free shipping to you guys! If you use this link your shipping will be free, saving you that $16!

The total price runs up on the right side and it came to $166 with shipping. That comes to a total of $15 per day. You might think this seems like a high price, but keep in mind a WiFi device isn’t for everyone. In the start of the article, I listed out reasons why you might want a device like this but I’m going to sum it up here:

• You can’t get a SIM in the country you are going to
• It’s difficult to get a SIM in the country you are going to
• You need WiFi from the moment you land to get an Uber or start working
• Bonus: you are traveling with friends and can all join this device and split the cost (best possible situation!)
• You have the budget to spend on this and don’t want any WiFi hassles, you just want your internet to work with ease.
• If you are traveling to multiple countries

While $15 per day seems high that is for Mexico. If you look at traveling to Europe and bouncing around to multiple countries you are going to pay $7.50 per day or $10 per day for 500 MB instead of the base amount of 300 MB. This European travel rate is actually lower than the other devices I have reviewed.

Multi-countries for Europe will be $7.50/day and a single European country would be the same. As I wrote above, they give you “unlimited” data with 500MB/day of highspeed internet and slows down to 2G speed until the next day once you run out of that.

So, what cons have I found with Vision Global WiFi?

As mentioned, the shipping fee even with pickup at LAX seems high with $5 for pick up and $5 for drop-off.

A second thing is that you are paying ahead of time for the whole trip on a daily rate regardless of if you use the WiFi device each day. Other companies allow you to pay by the day and you can choose if you want to turn it on or not and start a day’s usage. You might have a day in a nice hotel with high-speed WiFi and not need your device one day, but you’re going to pay for it anyway.

The plan for Mexico was only 300 MB/day. As a blogger, I need around 500 MB per day to do Instagram stories and be online pretty much all the time. 300 MB is a very good amount for the average traveler, but a little low for a blogger or someone who needs to stream or do a lot of video calling for work. Unlimited daily data would be ideal since you are paying $15 per day. Luckily, they are changing it to unlimited by the end of December.

A Little Bonus with Vision Global WiFi

The device itself is also a portable charger! This was key for me when I used it on my two-week trip to Florida as I would normally take a portable charger and got to leave that at home. Every little bit of space in a carry-on helps. Since you’ll likely have this device in your purse while you travel, it’s great that if your phone dies you can plug it in and get a little battery boost.

A Few More Things to Know about Vision Mobile WiFi

• It works in more than 130 countries and has over 5 million users
• The longer your trip, the less it is daily and some regions are more expensive than others. For example, a month-long trip to Japan would be just $2 per day which is an incredibly low rate I haven’t seen before.

• You can connect up to 10 devices!
• It’s a secure network
• This is the most lightweight WiFi device I’ve used on my travels which is pretty cool since it’s a portable charger, too.

Click here to get a quote and get free shipping.

Pin this Vision Global WiFi Review for later:

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There’s something about Paris. When I first went to Europe, there was no other place I was more excited about going to than Paris. It’s got a dreamy quality about it, but it’s not just a Hollywood manipulation – from misty gray mornings following your nose as you track down the best croissant to strolling the aisles at Port St Ouen looking for vintage finds, Paris has a “certain something” that can’t be missed. There are a million reasons to travel to Paris, but did you know that you can get a round-trip flight from within the USA to Paris for just $375? This is cheaper than when I just flew to Florida from Ohio! The trip of a lifetime to Paris isn’t out of reach.

This vintage postcard was bought for €1 at Port St Ouen, a vintage shopper’s heaven in the North of Paris. The flea market here is said to be one of the largest of its kind in the world.

One of the best views of the Eiffel Tower is from the top of Tour Montparnasse – 210 meters up!

Cheap Flights to Paris With Next Vacay

I think people have it in their heads that it would cost thousands at a minimum to go to Europe for a week, but it really doesn’t have to be that way if you are proactive about planning for your trip. I use Next Vacay to be on the look out for the crazy low price deals they email to me a few times a week. They emailed this deal of $375 to Paris and I just had to share this with you because I feel like it’s SO much more affordable to travel to places like Paris than people realize. I love that Next Vacay makes these deals known which makes dream destinations more accessible for us to travel. (I actually listed them in my favorite 9 websites I use to plan my trips and wrote a full review you can read here.)

Once you’ve got your flight, the next step in planning a trip is to find a hotel. I always tell people to research a bit first to see what area/neighborhood you want to be in rather than finding out later the amazing deal you found means you have to take a taxi 30 minutes into town each day. If you can find hotels in neighborhoods of Marais or St. Germain, you’ll love these areas with cool boutiques and shops selling baguettes on every corner. While you might think it’s great to be near the Eiffel Tower or Champs-Elysées, I don’t actually recommend these areas unless you’re rolling in the dough.

Because you are saving so much on a flight if you use deals like this from Next Vacay, it means you’ve got a little extra to use to get a nice boutique hotel or get a cheap hotel and use it to macaroons and nice wine.

This is an apartment in Le Marais with a little Parisian picnic using ingredients and wine from a local French supermarket!

The best things in Paris are taking long walks, taking in the views, and of course boozy brunches. Are you dying to visit!?

Just writing this makes me want to head straight back to Paris!

Now,  I’ve talked to a lot of my readers about the best ways to make their travel dreams a reality, especially traveling to Paris. When we talk about the details of their trips – walking down the Seine at sunset, or visiting the Eiffel Tower for the first time – their eyes light up with possibility and wonder. I absolutely love seeing how excited they get! But way too often that excitement fades. That’s because they start thinking about all the reasons they can’t “just go” to Paris.

And I totally get it.

When I started traveling, purchasing a quick flight to Paris was something other people did. Not me! How could I possibly just take off and go travel to Paris? It felt selfish. It even felt unfair. Like, “Who am I to just take off and enjoy a week in Paris?”

Then one day I asked myself “Why not? What’s stopping me?”

And that’s when I realized I had all of these reasons for saying no, without thinking of all of the reasons to say yes! The experience, the excitement, the culture, the beauty. I’d always dreamed of this trip, why shouldn’t I take it? Of course I deserve this!

A part of me wanted to believe everything would fall apart if I took time off for myself- but in reality, I knew things would be fine.

Yes, we’re all busy and it can be hard to make time for ourselves and our dreams. Going to Paris wasn’t just about having a luxurious vacation–it was me saying yes to myself, and my life. And all I needed to do to make it a reality was take one tiny step, which for me was signing up for Next Vacay–which has literally changed my life. These cheap flight deals are really a game changer.

So, Wait – What is Next Vacay?

I have been using Next Vacay for over a year. I reviewed them and it went viral – people started emailing me telling me the amazing deals there were getting from Next Vacay. I am so excited to see people getting to travel places they never thought they could! There are not many companies that I promote, and Next Vacay is something that I believed in back when they were a brand new company and I am so happy to see how huge they have become – being on the live news, TIME.com, and so much more.

Let me sum up how Next Vacay works in case you don’t want to read my past review:

You pay $25 for the whole year, input your local airport and a couple nearby ones, then they start emailing your deals that make sense for you (prices in the email are always round-trip). Then you use the deals to book directly through the airline they found the deal, not through Next Vacay. Basically, Next Vacay are just the deal hunters telling you when a crazy cheap flight is available from your hometown airport to well, anywhere in the world like Paris, Sydney, London, The Maldives, Hanoi, and New Zealand. They don’t send a deal out unless it’s a true “steal”. It’s a husband and wife team, and you’ll right away notice how personable the emails are.

Naveen & Shaylee Dittakavi, the husband and wife founders and deal hunters of nextvacay.com, sending deals out to members while waiting to board a flight

The fact that it’s $25 now and was $25 a year ago means a lot – they aren’t trying to raise their prices. $25 is so cheap to pay for a year of deals, that I’m surprised they haven’t! You can do a free month trial, and you can cancel if you don’t find a deal in six months that you like with a money back guarantee – so there’s literally no downside. They will email you before year two starts to see if you want to go ahead or cancel the subscription (before your card is charged).

What caught my eye with this website over a year ago, was when Naveen, the owner posted to Facebook he was on a roundtrip flight USA-India for just $300. I was like, wow, I NEED these deals in my life.

I haven’t been disappointed with at least 2 deals coming to my inbox each day to amazing places like Madrid for $450, Dublin for $400, Puerto Vallarta for $500 and Mumbai for $825 (with Columbus, Ohio as my home airport). You can also check out Next Vacay’s Facebook page where they share deals that their users got (which the users themselves posted to Facebook). It’s amazing to see people so excited about their upcoming trip.

Just by paying $25, you get the best deals ever sent to your inbox which honestly opens up your life to so much – because travel is just “step one”. Once you get there, you will have life-changing experiences, meet friends, maybe meet a significant other like I did, or you might even find a new career from travel! It will open so many doors. I wouldn’t be promoting something I don’t believe in, and I really feel like for $25 this is a no-brainer. The best part is they find deals over holidays and long weekends, too, when you can actually take the time to travel.

Where do you want to travel? Paris, somewhere else? Start now! You can sign up for your free trial and start actually living out your wanderlust dreams at a fraction of the cost. If you aren’t sure it’s as cheap as I say, check out these recent trips Next Vacay members booked  – so awesome.

Click here to get a free trial to next vacay

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This post is in partnership with Next Vacay. I was paid for this post but only write about things I truly believe in. I have been a happy user of their services for over a year and not only love this company but think it’ll be the smartest $25 you spend toward travel this year!

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My day at Universal was the BEST day of my life and is the coolest thing to do in Florida. Maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit, but it was the best day in a long time. I was like a kid in a candy shop. I held back happy tears on the Escape From Gringotts ride. Here’s how I spent one day at Harry Potter in Universal in both parks and also stopped by some other top attractions at Universal.

How I Spent One Day At Harry Potter in Universal & What I Would Do Differently Next Time

So the first thing you need to know is that all things Harry Potter are NOT in one place. There are two parks in Universal: Islands of Adventure (where Hogsmeade is located & Hogwarts) and Universal Studios (where Diagon Alley is). The Hogwarts Express connects the two parks from one Harry Potter land to the next without ever breaking character.

When you arrive GET A MAP. It’s so important to make sure you see and do everything you want. I really wouldn’t wing it if you have certain things you don’t want to miss.

Arrive Early.

Get Express Line Passes.

These two things are the most key things there are. Basically, you can buy express passes to cut in line. I had them for free because I was a guest of the park so that I could blog about it. Express passes are NOT USABLE on a few things, most of which are Harry Potter: Hogwarts Express, Escape from Gringotts (Universal Studios), and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (Islands of Adventure).

So, what I did was get there right when things opened and go to Universal Studios side first. I went straight to the Escape from Gringotts and only waited about 10 minutes.

What I would do differently is instead of enjoying Diagon Alley now, I would have jumped right on the Hogwarts Express and rode over to Hogmeade and rode the Fobidden Journey. When I got there later, the line was an hour long and it was 100 degrees. I was riding alone (but the single rider’s line which is way shorter skips all the fun going through the castle to the start of the ride).

From there I would have stayed in Hogsmeade and done the rest of that part of Harry Potter, then explored Islands of Adventure, then exited the park there and re-entered on the Universal Studios side (you just walk around a pond, it’s no big deal). Then explored Universal Studios and been over there for their nightly fireworks.

Harry Potter on the Universal Studios Side: Diagon Alley

Oh hey, Diagon Alley!

It’s so cool. Really, it’s amazing. As you walk through Universal Studios, go all the way to the back of the park. Things will start to get a little English until you realize you’re in London! You’ll see the Knight bus (take your photo with the conductor) and all things Harry Potter like King’s Cross (enter to take Hogwart’s Express) or Diagon Alley!

Once you’re in Diagon Alley and feeling like you’ve never been happier you can do the following:

• Choose a wand at Ollivanders. They are SO in character. It’s amazing. You watch and wand choose someone! There is a line. Also, the interactive wands you buy can be used to do magic around the park.
• Change money for Gringotts Bank Notes at Gringotts bank by people dressed up like goblins.
• See a performance at the Tales of the Beedle and the Bard
• Eat ice cream at Florean Fortescue’s
• Eat fish & chips and bangers & mash at The Leaky Cauldron and drink pumpkin juice and Butterbeer at the Hopping Pot and Fountain of Fair Fortune. I’d do Butterbeer here because the lin by the castle over in the other park was so long!
• Go in all the shops from the book like Fred and George’s joke shop and Honeyduke’s sweets… it’s really like being in Diagon Alley.

Harry Potter on the Islands of Adventure Side: Hogwarts & Hogsmeade

I was pretty hot and tired by the time I reached here and it was PACKED. I mean, you got off the Hogwarts Express and couldn’t hardly see past the people. Granted, it was a Saturday in late June.

So, here you have the castle where you’ll want to ride the Forbidden Journey. I didn’t as mentioned since the line was so long. I did go on the Dragon Challenge, a fun coaster, which I didn’t even need my express pass because the single riders line was empty. ALWAYS CONSIDER DITCHING YOUR FRIENDS FOR THIS LINE, LOL. Flight of the Hippogriff I skipped as it was more for kids I think.

Here you can:

• Eat at the Three Broomsticks
• Drink at the Hogs Head pub
• See a performance from the Triwizard Spirit Rally
• Ollivanders is here, too.

So, as you can see here is more rides which Diagon Alley is more experiences. The parks are the same with Islands of Aventure being more for rides and Universal Studios being “in the scenes” experiences, so it makes sense.

I made time to visit other parks of both parks, too. Some places were top of my list so I focused on them, first!

Universal Studios Favorites:

My favorite is Springfield. These are both in Universal Studios. So, I walked around that whole park by going out of Harry Potter, left, and going to the Simpsons. I got a Donut, saw Duff’s and Moe’s and Krusty Burger and moved on.

In this park, I thought New York, Hollywood, and San Fransisco were cool, but I wasn’t into exploring them due to lack fo time. I obviously skipped the KidZone. That left the rides near the entrance in “Production Central” and rode the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem here. I then skipped with the single riders line on the Hollywood Rip Ride (very cool, you choose your music and I chose No Doubt Hella Good). I felt a little hot and woozy so skipped the other rides, Shrek and Transformers.

Islands of Adventure Favorites:

I really liked Suess Landing the best. It’s sort of for kids but a really cool wonderland and fun to walk through, although the ride there is just for kids I think.

I was pretty tired of rides, really, but enjoyed exploring in The Lost Continent and Jurassic Park a lot!

There’s also Skull Island, Toon Lagoon, and all the Super Hero stuff. There are rides for all kinds of things, like E.T. but I couldn’t’ even find E.T on my map let alone in the park.

This park is bigger and more crowded that Universal Studios. That’s part of why I would have done things differently: Universal Studios first just to ride Gringotts, then take Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade in Islands of Adventure, explore this park, then go BACK to Universal Studios!

Don’t forget there’s also now Volcano Bay, a 3rd Universal Park. You HAVE to get a PARK HOPPER pass to do BOTH parks. Then buy a ticket for Volcano Bay separately. You cannot take the Hogwarts Express unless you have a park hopper pass! If you want to do one day at Harry Potter in Universal then you need to go to both parks and get the Park Hopper pass. Do NOT forget I.D. to enter the park! So many crying people outside who forgot and didn’t have the credit card they booked with (because their parents booked it!).

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Over the years I’ve bought and been sent a lot of different stylish luggage for travel. After all, it’s easy to find a sturdy suitcase to survive plane rides, but it’s a little harder to find one that looks cute too. While I’ve written different review posts, I’ve never really made one post outlining my best finds. Not only will these suitcases help make you look fashionable at the airport, they’re super functional as well. Think of them as the best of the best!

Most Stylish Luggage for Travel

Delsey

Delsey is my oldest luggage and the one that I use the most. I bought a set of two (a 25 inch and a 19 inch) at Macy’s in 2012 and use it on most of my big trips. It is by far my most worn in luggage and has flown to and from India probably 30x without getting even a dent in it. I can’t recommend this luggage enough. I fly so much that I’m always shocked how well this has held up. I feel like in 10 years, I’ll still be using this as my go-to set of luggage.  Specifically, this is the Helium 2.0 luggage but it’s been so many years it might have a new name or be a newer version of this luggage. The packing cubes in the photo are from eBags and the shoes are Franco Sarto. The 19 inch carry-on is expandable and I have NEVER found a carry-on that can hold as much as this one. Because it’s 19 inches you’ll never go over your size limit. It also has a separate compartment for your laptop.

Read my full review here

Raden

Raden is the most luxurious luggage I own, which was gifted to me by the company to write a review about it. It’s got a waitlist of thousands of people. I love it, there’s not much not to love! I mean, it’s beautiful, it’s spacious, and it has the perfect compartments to stay organized. What makes it crazy is that it’s “the smartest luggage invented”: it weighs itself, it has GPS, and it has a portable charger in it.

Full review here

It Luggage

I take my large IT Luggage (the 30 inch) on all my trips to India. It’s the biggest luggage I have and the most lightweight. This is the magical lightweight “lightest luggage in the world” and it’s perfect for going abroad. If you fill it to the brim with clothing it will just meet the max weight, but if you put shoes and heavy things then you can’t really fill it all the way. I have the 25 inch and 21 inch as well and am in love with this set of luggage. If I could buy it again, I would. It’s the soft shell light weight spinner set.

Read the full review here.

Away

Away luggage is basically the trendiest luggage right now and what all the fashion bloggers and Instagrammers always have photos with. The reason is that it’s so pretty and crazy durable. I love this luggage because it has this compression piece in it that you can push down all your stuff and fit more inside. I wish I could use this as my “every trip” carry-on but it just doesn’t hold as much as my Delsey. It’s quite a thin bag. Because of that, I use it for just shorter trips like my recent trip to Florida.

Beverly Hills Ricardo

Not the cutest luggage, right? This is some really durable, lightweight, practical luggage. I clearly have a lot of sets of luggage and it has to be stored somewhere, so I keep it at my parent’s house. Of all the luggage there, this is the set my parents use on their trips. It’s really spacious, rolls really well, and is just really quality luggage.

Read full review here

Ebags Motherlode

Basically the coolest luggage out there! This is a hard shell rolling duffel which sounds confusing. You MUST check out my full review to see why this luggage is so insanely amazing. The only downside of this luggage for me is that it’s not as lightweight as my IT or Delsey luggage.

Read full review here

Calpak

Calpak is a very cool luggage. I have a full 3 piece set of this in purple. I was feeling kind of weird when I picked out the color! It’s “trendy” luggage that a lot of bloggers have which is why I wanted to check it out. I LOVE the space inside, the compression piece, and how smooth it rolls. I don’t love that handle which is not that durable and I think the plastic casing is thin. I worry it could crack when being transferred by the luggage handlers, therefore, I don’t take it the check-in one on my huge travels. Ben likes this luggage actually and it’s been stolen by him haha so if you see him, he will have purple luggage!

You might recognize this from my Vegas packing list a while back!

BONUS: Backpacks – REI

I do still travel with a backpack, although not as often as my rolling luggage. I use a backpack when I’m traveling in India, traveling by train, and traveling somewhere where I’ll have a hard time with rolling luggage like Morocco.  I have had the 65L since 2008 and it’s been to 30 countries. It is the best bag ever and I use REI because they have a life time policy on their bags. I got the 48L in 2012 and use it for trips that are a month or smaller, like when I went to the Thai Islands. I love this bag!

REI 65L Traverse

REI 45L Flash

Products to Keep Luggage Organized

Packing Cubes

I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT PACKING CUBES. I don’t know how I went years traveling without them because now that I have them, I can’t imagine taking a trip without them. They are a cheap investment torward a less stressful trip abroad. Please get a couple packs of them!

Laundry Bags

I’m pretty into organization and always keep my dirty clothing totally separated. It’s great to have an actual bag for laundry so that I can just drop it off at the laundry places when I’m traveling.

Shoe Covers

I CANNOT let me dirty show touch anything in my bag! Even bags that have a separate compartment for shoes, I still cover the shoes first then put them in that compartment. I basically never clean my luggage so I just like to keep it as clean as possible during my travels.

Mini Containers

These are so convenient for travel for obvious reasons!

Toiletry Bags

There are so many cute toiletry bags. Definitely go for one that has an inside plastic liner that you can clean out every once in a while or if you do one which is all fabric you can throw it in the wash. I actually use the Clinique ones because they give me free ones all the time!

For more luggage + packing posts:

• Eco Friendly Products You’ll Love
• 17 Packing Hacks
• Packing for Various Regions of Long Term Travel in One Suitcase
• Carry-on Packing List

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The post My Picks for the Most Stylish Luggage for Travel appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

I always feel really crappy when I leave the USA and go back to India. Usually, I’m really depressed from saying goodbye to my family, anxious about the journey back to India, and feeling gross/fat from eating junk for 6 weeks straight. In the US, I get so excited about all the food I miss from home, I eat everything. So, feeling low about yourself, feeling unhealthy, and feeling sad/anxious is not a good combo! I thought doing a wellness retreat at Myrtle Beach and a little detox from fatty food before going back to India was a great idea!

Wellness Retreats at Myrtle Beach

If you’re looking for a wellness retreat, Myrtle Beach has a lot to offer; and they are actually doing really budget-friendly wellness retreats. I came to try out a mix of their activities on offer. At upcoming ones in September and October they’ll have specific retreat options at the hotel I stayed at (Marina Inn at Grand Dunes) as well as the Marriott at Grand Dunes and Kingston Resorts where with the package you save 30% on all the stuff you end up getting than if you bought it separately.  They’ll have meditation classes focusing on the five senses at Brookgreen Gardens for smell (loved this), Skywheel for sight, Heidi’s Corner (so delicious) for taste, Myrtle Beach State Park for sound, and Barefoot Landing for touch (you get your massage here!). Plus there will be gifts in the room, bicycle excusions, and yoga on the beach on Saturdays. You can read more about it here.

Here are some more reasons to get your wellness on in Myrtle Beach

Get Some Vitamin Sea (and D!)

There’s nothing wrong with spending your time on vacation by the beach or pool for a few hours every day. The hotel I stayed at, Marina Inn at Grande Dunes, had a shuttle to their private beach with towels, chairs, and umbrellas. I laid out and read the first day. The other two days, I used my free time to lay by the pool and finish up my book. The sun really does make you feel refreshed, and hey – a tan doesn’t hurt.

Spa & Massage Time

For me, it’s not a real vacation unless I get some spa time and hopefully a massage, too. My hotel had a sauna and all that (actually the shower in the room was like a steam room anyway!) but I opted for a massage. They did them in-room. After 60 minutes, I was feeling pretty relaxed. My masseuse actually told me how she lives in Costa Rica and is home for a few months visiting family and how she’s already feeling anxiety about leaving – it always makes you feel a little better to know other people have the same thoughts and feelings.

Eat Healthy Seafood & Fresh Salads

You could come to the beach for fried fish and coconut shrimp, and I sure did get my fill of that in Key West, but this was a focus on wellness for me to try and reset myself before heading back to India. I don’t go healthy often so I wanted to do it right! Nacho Hippo tacos with grilled or blackened fish was a great option near the airport. On route 17, Carolina Roadhouse has huge tasty salads, and Johnny D’s has fruit smoothies at for breakfast (go early, they get PACKED!)

I went up to Little River to try Patio’s Tiki Bar and had a really nice Southwest chicken salad. They also do sushi. If you want something fancy, you can try Chianti South. If you head into Conway, you might like Bonfire on Main Street which is a new place that does BBQ and tacos. I also had some yummy clam chowder at River City Cafe.

On the way back to the airport, I tried Croissants/Heidi’s Corner on King’s Highway which is the second location of the chef Heidi and it’s really famous around here. I got the Acai Berry bowl; I haven’t been able to resist these since Bali!

Relaxing (But Calorie Burning) Kayaking Tour

I took a kayak tour with Black River Outdoors which goes kayaking in Murrells Inlet (meeting place is the Oyster Shell Recycling Landing, just north of Huntington Beach State Park). The marsh you paddle through is beautiful and has this cable grass around that makes it really nice to see birds, oysters, crabs, seat turtles, and even alligators and sharks on the little islands they make. 

You could tell our guide wasn’t just doing this for work; he loves his job. He’s into birding and nature and the two-hour tour sped by learning about everything as well as stories of the area, dating back to the 1800’s. There are 630 am, 9 am, and 6 pm tours. I recommend the sunset tour. Part of being on a wellness retreat means getting a lot of sleep!

Try Out Some “Shag Dancing” at Fat Harolds

Fat Harolds is known foritss free “shag dancing” lessons on Tuesdays. It’s a type of dancing done down here to country music. It’s kind of like a line dance but smoother? I was so tired after kayaking and showering that I didn’t get back out to Fat Harolds but I was lucky that I got to experience Shag Dancing anyway when I was at Patio’s Tiki Bar. They had live music there (which was wonderful) and some couples got up to show us how it was done. It was really cute and I know those of you who follow my Instagram stories loved the videos!

Some other entertainment I recommend is The Carolina Opry, Alabama Theatre or Legends in Concert. Live music seems to just make me feel better! You can also check out Myrtle Beach Comedy Club at Broadway at the Beach because laughing heals everything!

Walk It Off At Vereen Memorial Historical Gardens

Just get there before 5 pm. Every local around Little River told me that Vereen Memorial Historical Gardens were fantastic but I planned to go after dinner at Patio’s Tiki Bar and when I arrived it said it closed at 5 pm. So, just keep that in mind. There were picnic tables and people hanging out with their dogs, but through the park apparently, there are walkways out to the backwaters.

Spend Hours in Nature At Brookgreen Gardens

The huge gardens at Brookgreen Gardens have the most comprehensive collection of American figurative sculpture in the USA and also have walking trails, restaurants and a little zoo inside (with only animals from this area which they are doing many conservation efforts for).

If you want to do the kayaking, these are near each other so you could do both in a day. I think 2 hours at the gardens is sufficient. You can also eat around here. I went to River City Cafe before my kayaking. Wicked Tuna, near here, is also supposed to be good but I didn’t try it.

Wake Boarding

You have GOT to try out wake boarding at Shark Wake Park and play around the Aqua Park next to it (that has all these floating obstacle courses). The wake boarding here is cable wakeboarding which I hadn’t even heard of. I’ve only gone behind a boat. It’s VERY different but cool because if you were good at it (I was not) you could keep going forever and ever. There were jumps set up. I saw a lot of guys coming in to the park with their own boards who were there to practice tricks on the jumps. It’s cool to watch. I went three times before giving up (my arms were also sore from kayaking) and it was a blast. I’d definitely do this again.

Where To Stay: Marina Inn at Grande Dunes

I stayed at Marina Inn at Grande Dunes. It was a really nice hotel with a huge spacious room. It isn’t a resort but it has that feel because they have towels out by the pool and give you a shuttle to the beach as well as towels and lifeguards there, all included.

Their restaurant, Waterscapes, has fresh seafood options and is absolutely delicious! Also, if you forego housekeeping, you get a $5 coupon each day. I used mine for my daily fruit smoothie!

Getting There & Away

The airport was about 20 minutes from my hotel. I booked a rental car with Enterprise which would have been $103 for the 4 days but I have no insurance so it ended up being close to $300 for my car – I’m sure you would be able to go without all their add-ons!

The car rental places are all together just outside the airport from baggage claim, so no need to take a shuttle. It’s pretty easy breezy. Everything I listed here shows up okay on Google Maps.

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