Jafferji House and Spa is a luxury boutique hotel located in the heart of Stone Town on the exotic spice island of Zanzibar. The building was built about 100 years ago and had been used as both a family home and a shop before being converted into a hotel by the Jafferji family. Opened in 2012, the 10-room boutique hotel is finely decorated with authentic furniture, doors, and antiques from around the Indian Ocean so that you can imagine you are stepping into the historical home of a sultan or wealthy spice merchant. In addition to 10 spacious suites, the hotel offers richly decorated common rooms, an on-site full-service restaurant serving Swahili style food, and an on-site rooftop spa. This hotel has quickly become a very popular choice among Zanzibar travelers with its fine furnishings, good restaurant, and convenient location in central Stone Town. We’ll share all the details you’ll… Read the rest
Avital Food Tours: Eating Our Way through North Beach San Francisco
Taking a food tour in San Francisco is really a no brainer as San Francisco is a city full of culinary delights from artisan coffee to fresh caught seafood to old-fashioned ice cream. We didn’t hesitate when Avital Food Tours asked us to review one of their walking food tours. Currently, this small company offers food tours in several iconic San Francisco neighborhoods including the Mission District, North Beach, TenderNob. and Union Square. What is unique about the company is that not only do they take you to local culinary destinations and allow you to meet restaurant owners and chefs, but they also focus on providing participants with local history and little known local lore about the neighborhood. We’ll share our experience of eating our way through San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood to give you a good idea if this is the type of tour for you or not. Basic… Read the rest
Le Marche Italy: Discovering an Unexplored Region of Italy
The Marche Region sits in the center of Italy with the Apennines to its west and the Adriatic Sea to its east, and is best known for its rolling hills, agricultural products, parks and nature reserves, and its seaside towns and beaches. It is also a great region to discover small hilltop villages and picturesque towns that have preserved their medieval and renaissance heritages. In October, I spent a few days in the Le Marche Region of Italy following the Travel Bloggers Destination Italy conference in Rimini. Admittedly, I had never heard of the Le Marche region before and was mispronouncing the name of the region (pronounced lay MAR-kay) until we started the trip. However, I was excited to explore this relatively unknown region of Italy. During our trip we visited the northern part of Le Marche region of Italy known as the “Hills Riviera” and focused on the major seaside… Read the rest
Safari West: An African Safari Experience in Sonoma California
I was really surprised to learn that there was an African wildlife preserve called Safari West located only 75 miles north of San Francisco. Safari West is a 400-acre wildlife preserve containing over 100 species and over 700 individual animals, including giraffes, cheetahs, zebras, flamingoes, rhinos, cape buffalo, lemurs, and wildebeest. Opened in 1993 by Peter and Nancy Lang, Safari West strives to promote wildlife advocacy and conservation through breeding, education, research and public interaction. The preserve shares similar environmental features to an African savanna and guests can take open-air guided wildlife safari drives to see many of the animals roaming the expansive property. The smaller animals are kept in enclosures that are reachable by a walkway and you can also visit the open-air aviary containing all sorts of exotic birds. Guests can even stay overnight here and see and hear many of the animals in the evening once the daytime crowds leave…. Read the rest
Visiting Finland in Winter: Top 23 Winter Activities in Finland
After two visits and spending several weeks in Finland in winter, Laurence and I decided to write a guide to things to do in Finland during winter. Most people tend to avoid Northern Europe during the winter and head to sunnier and warmer destinations, but there are so many reasons to travel to Finland in winter. Yes, it is cold and there’s snow and the daylight hours get shorter, but there are also fewer tourists, surreal winter landscapes, and unique winter activities to be discovered throughout the country. You can go ice fishing, try dog sledding, take a traditional Finnish sauna, learn how to kicksled, drink cloudberry wine, sleep in an ice hotel, or go hunting for those mesmerizing Northern Lights. We’ll share our tips for visiting Finland in winter as well as share our top 23 winter activities in Finland to help you put together your own trip to this magical… Read the rest
The African Tulip: Best Hotel in Arusha Tanzania?
The African Tulip hotel is a centrally located boutique hotel in Arusha Tanzania and is currently ranked on Tripadvisor as the number one hotel in the city. Arusha is a very common stop on most travelers’ itineraries in Tanzania as the city is a great jumping off spot to head to a variety of parks for those going on safari and is near both Mount Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro for climbers. In fact, we ended up staying in Arusha three different times during our trip. The first time was unplanned and we ended up at The African Tulip after having to delay the start of our climb of Mount Kilimanjaro after I started feeling ill and running a fever. The hotel was highly recommended by our safari company Amani Afrika and we found out that over 50 safari companies trust their guests to this hotel. This hotel ended up being a perfect place… Read the rest
Best Travel Wraps & Shawls for Women
A travel wrap is a versatile travel garment that can often be used as a shawl, a scarf, and a travel blanket. Travel wraps are also often lightweight and compact enough to fold up and store in a purse or backpack. We nearly always travel with at least one travel wrap as they have so many uses. Over the years we have put together quite a collection of travel wraps made of various materials and in different styles. We love the versatility of a travel wrap. They can keep you warm on a chilly airplane or be used as a travel blanket on a long bus ride. It can cover your shoulders when entering churches, dress up a plain outfit for an evening out, and add an extra layer of warmth as you watch the sunset from a beach. We’ll share what to look for when buying a travel wrap… Read the rest
Best Travel Routers for Internet while Traveling
These days most travelers want to be able to get online regularly while traveling to check email, get directions, check hotel and restaurant reviews, upload photos, update social media, and stay in touch with those back home. Travel routers can help with this. It is definitely easier to stay connected as wireless Internet is now widely available in most parts of the world but there are still a number of situations when it can be tricky (or expensive) to connect. As travel bloggers who regularly have to manage our business on the go, it is often really important for us to be able to get online on a regular basis while traveling and it can be very frustrating when we are in a hotel with weak Wi-Fi, we are being restricted from using multiple devices on one Internet connection, or we would like more security when using an unsecured public… Read the rest
Visiting Los Osos California
Los Osos is a peaceful bayside community that is home to a number of outdoor activities along Central California’s coast. Los Osos is conveniently located just off scenic Highway 1, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and makes a good stop on both a Pacific Coast Highway trip, or a longer California road trip. Located just south of beautiful Morro Bay and its famous giant rock landmark, Los Osos lies along Estero Bay and is the gateway to Montaña de Oro State Park, one of the most beautiful oceanside parks in California. If you enjoy hiking, water activities, bird watching, and other outdoor adventures, this lovely area of Central California is the perfect place for a weekend nature break. Ethan and I were very excited to be invited to spent a day and a half in Los Osos exploring the lovely parks, estuaries, nature preserves, and bays surrounding this… Read the rest
Vintage and Antique Shopping in Morro Bay California: Perfect Place for a Recycled Holiday
Morro Bay is a charming seaside town with a bustling waterfront, charming old town, and an enormous landmark in the form of Morro Rock which sits in the harbor. You’ll likely first notice this large iconic rock from miles away as your approach the city. Morro Bay sits along the Central California Coastline just off of California’s scenic Highway 1, located midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. While perhaps best known for its waterfront activities, outdoor adventure opportunities, and rock landmark, Morro Bay also sports a downtown shopping district in its Old Town, and this was the reason for our first visit to this little charming town. The town sports dozens of antique malls, thrift stores, gift shops, and local speciality stores that beg to be explored. What would you do if you were given $500 to spend to buy gifts for a “recycled holiday”, where instead of buying… Read the rest
Beyond Oktoberfest and Hofbrauhaus: Festivals and Beer in Bavaria Germany
Germany is well-known for its beer culture with Munich being home to the long-running Oktoberfest and the world-famous Hofbräuhaus beer hall, both of which attract millions of beer-guzzling tourists each year. However, attending Oktoberfest is not the only way to join in on some sudsy Bavarian fun and there are plenty of other German festivals and ways to experience beer in Bavaria. Hofbräuhaus is the world’s most famous beer hall and one of the oldest beer halls in Germany, regularly packed with rowdy tourists (and brave locals) throughout the year. A pilgrimage to the Hofbräuhaus is worth it, but we suggest that there is more to experience at this famous site than simply drinking beer and eating sausage and we’ll share how you can learn more about the beer culture in Germany here. To get away from the tourists, we suggest that in addition to the popular Hofbräuhaus that you also seek out some… Read the rest
17 Tips for Attending your First Travel Blogger Conference
So you’re on your way to your first travel blogging conference! It’s a big step in your travel blogging journey, and you can learn a lot from attending a travel blogging conference. Together we’ve attended over a dozen travel blogging conferences. Laurence’s first one was in Spain in 2012 and mine (Jess’s) was in Italy in 2014 (where the two of us first met!). Since then we have attended over a dozen travel conferences as both attendees and as speakers. Based on all our conference experiences, we wanted to share some tips and advice for attending your first travel blogging conference (or any blogging conference really). Hopefully these will address any questions, concerns or worries you may have and help you make the most of your first travel blogger conference. 17 Tips for Attending your First Travel Blogger Conference Our tips for attending a travel blogging conference do, of course,… Read the rest
Buffalo Luxury Camp: Bush Dinners, Night Game Drives, & Safari Walks
The main reason we chose to stay at Buffalo Luxury Camp is because it offers guests the opportunity to do both night game drives and game walks. Buffalo Luxury Camp is located in the northern Serengeti on its own privately owned hillside just a few miles outside of the boundaries of Serengeti National Park. Because of the lodge’s location outside of the park and its position on private land, the camp is able to offer a range of experiences not possible within the national park, including off-road game drives, night game drives, and nature and safari walks. Buffalo Luxury Camp is a permanent luxury tented camp consisting of 15 suite tents with constant hot and cold water, electricity, hair dryers, robes, and even bath tubs! We appreciated the luxury of our suite tent and the beautiful three-level main lodge building; however, what stood out to us most were the unique experiences of… Read the rest
Asanja Africa: Finding the Perfect Mix of Wilderness and Luxury in the Serengeti
Asanja Africa provided the perfect balance of wilderness and luxury for us while staying in the Serengeti. The Serengeti, one of the world’s most amazing wildlife areas, is the perfect place to enjoy a stay in a small tented camp. Located in the southern central area of Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, Asanja Africa is a tented camp that offers seven well-appointed luxury tents with en-suite bathrooms and private verandas. Each of the seven tents are individually decorated based on a different Maasai ceremony so that each one has a unique theme and style. Because of the camp’s small size and location you can have an authentic wilderness experience while still enjoying a comfortable bed, warm shower, great food, and personalized service. Ethan and I enjoyed the scenic views of the Serengeti plains and Moru kopjes during the day and listened to the sounds of hyenas and lions in the evening!… Read the rest
Top 10 Things to do in the Serengeti National Park
The Serengeti is one of the most famous national parks in Africa and offers some of the best wildlife viewing in the world; however, there are a number of things to do in the Serengeti other than game drives. The Serengeti fits well into most people’s dream of an African safari with its abundant wildlife, vast golden plains dotted with thorny umbrella acacia trees, kopjes, and sausage trees, and its crocodile and hippo-filled rivers. The Serengeti has earned the titles of one of the “Seven Natural Wonders of Africa” and one of the “Ten Natural Travel Wonders of the World” for being the site of the largest terrestrial mammal migration in the world (about 2 million animals!). However, even without the Great Migration, the park sports the densest lion population in the world and is home to all members of the Big Five and almost 500 bird species. When planning your… Read the rest